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BR  50  .P37  1919 

Patton,  Cornelius  Howard, 

1860-1939. 
World  facts  and  America's 

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WORLD  FACTS  AND 
AMERICA'S  RESPONSIBILITY 


WORLD     FACTS 

AND  AMERICA'S%cwcu 
RESPONSIBILITY 


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CORNELIUS  H.  PATTON,  D.D. 

Secretary,  Home  Department, 

American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 

Author  of  "The  Lure  of  Africa" 


ASSOCIATION    PRESS 

New    York:    347    Madison    Avenue 
1919 


CopTKiGHT,  1919,  By  Coknelitjs  H.  Patton 


To 

All    My    Fellow-Christians 

IN  America  Who  Are  Willing 

TO  Be  of  World  Size 


WHY  THESE  TEN   FACTS? 

Every  patriotic  American  rejoices  over  the  splendid 
prospects  for  our  foreign  trade  which  have  come  as  the 
result  of  the  War.  The  signs  which  point  to  a  note- 
worthy expansion  of  our  commerce  are  unmistakable. 
Congress  is  bound  to  repeal  or  amend  the  ill-advised 
shipping  laws  which  have  favored  rival  powers  at  the 
expense  of  the  United  States.  A  large  increase  in  our 
merchant  marine  is  already  assured  and  docking  facili- 
ties are  improving  rapidly.  One  sure  indication  is  the 
fact  that  the  great  banking  houses  of  New  York  are 
estabhshing  branches  in  the  commercial  centers  of 
Asia,  Africa,  and  South  America,  while  schools  for  the 
training  of  employes  for  foreign  service  have  come  to 
the  front  as  an  entirely  new  development  in  education. 
The  newspapers,  since  the  signing  of  the  armistice, 
have  been  particularly  busy  in  this  realm  with  their 
interesting  "broadsides"  upon  '^The  peace  settlement 
and  America's  foreign  trade.''  I  take  up  my  paper 
this  New  Year's  Day  morning  and  find  that  the  leading 
article  is  entitled,  ''All  Mankind  Needs  the  Help  of 
America."  It  is  a  well-considered  statement  of  the 
trade  opportunities  which  are  beckoning  our  manufac- 
turers and  exporters  from  every  quarter  of  the  earth. 

All  this  is  admirable,  and  every  red-blooded  American 
is  thankful  that  at  last  we  are  to  have  our  full  share  in 
the  world's  commerce.     The  nations  need  our  resources 

vii 


viii  WORLD  FACTS 

and  we  have  a  right  to  the  profit  which  is  involved. 
But  is  this  all?  How  about  a  world  service  of  a  much 
higher  kind  —  a  service  which  will  perpetuate  the 
noble  altruism  that  led  us  into  the  War,  and  enable  us 
to  apply  on  a  world  scale  the  humane  and  spiritual 
ministrations  which  gave  to  the  War  a  distinctly 
reUgious  character?  ''AH  Manldnd  Needs  the  Help 
of  America."  True  —  but  in  more  ways  than  the 
writer  of  that  article  imagined. 

It  is  time  we  were  discussing  this  matter  in  an 
earnest,  definite  way.  The  world  has  come  to  believe 
that  there  are  some  things  for  which  Americans  care 
more  than  for  the  Almighty  Dollar.  The  War  has 
placed  us  on  a  pedestal  in  the  eyes  of  the  nations.  Our 
idealism  is  known  to  the  remotest  tribes  of  Asia.  Are 
we  now  to  fall  from  this  high  estate  ?  Are  we  to  settle 
down  upon  a  materialistic  basis  ?  Or  are  we  to  become 
a  mighty  factor  in  the  higher  life  of  the  world?  The 
big  question  before  America  in  these  days  is  not  busi- 
ness, but  philanthropy  and  religion  —  what  part  are 
we  to  take  in  rebuilding  the  world  upon  the  founda- 
tions of  God? 

This  book  is  offered  as  a  contribution  toward  such 
a  discussion.  It  presents  ten  great  facts  which  bear 
upon  America's  new  responsibihty.  It  is  written  with 
the  idea  that  the  primary  need  is  for  information. 
There  has  been,  possibly,  enough  of  academic  discus- 
sion in  pulpit  and  press  as  to  America's  duty  in  respect 
to  the  new  world.  Most  of  us  recognize  the  principle; 
but  we  want  to  know  the  facts  as  to  the  world's  need 
and  the  direction  in  which  our  efforts  should  be  made. 
We  need  the  compulsion  of  concrete  realities. 


WHY  THESE  TEN  FACTS?  ix 

By  confining  the  diagnosis  to  ten  events  I  have 
sought  to  state  the  case  in  a  manner  so  simple  that  the 
reader  can  readily  hold  it  in  mind  and,  if  he  is  so  in- 
clined, pass  it  on  to  others.  Even  so  the  discussion 
covers  a  wide  range  of  inquiry,  and  I  suppose  some  will 
be  saying  the  treatment  is  superficial.  If  so,  my  reply 
would  be,  facts,  certainly  great  facts,  are  never  su- 
perficial. By  the  nature  of  the  case  they  are  funda- 
mental. It  has,  therefore,  seemed  to  me  sufficient  to 
estabhsh  the  facts  as  facts,  interpret  them  in  their 
relationships  and  bearings,  and  then  leave  them  to 
speak  for  themselves.  So  far  as  there  is  failure  to 
expiand  and  elaborate,  it  should  be  a  challenge  to  the 
reader  to  study  the  subject  on  his  own  part.  He  will 
find  not  a  few  quotations  from  acknowledged  authori- 
ties and  sundry  references  to  books  which  offer  an 
attractive  field  of  independent  investigation.  Through- 
out I  have  kept  in  mind  the  importance  of  condensa- 
tion and  brevity,  if  one  is  to  secure  a  reading  in  these 
days  of  multitudinous  publications. 

It  is  my  conviction  that  during  the  next  few  decades 
we  are  to  see  a  rapid  spread  of  the  Christian  religion, 
and  of  the  civilization  based  upon  that  religion, 
throughout  the  non-Christian  world.  It  is  my  con- 
viction that  America,  in  close  association  with  Great 
Britain,  is  called  of  God  to  lead  off  in  the  movement  to 
make  Christ  supreme  in  the  world's  affairs.  I  beheve 
great  days  are  ahead  for  the  Church  of  Christ.  If 
this  Uttle  volume  helps  in  any  wise  to  stimulate 
thought  and  effort  in  that  direction  I  shall  be  grateful 
indeed. 

In  closing  let  me  make  two  hearty  acknowledgments. 


X  WORLD  FACTS 

Miss  Florence  S.  Fuller,  of  our  American  Board  staff, 
has  been  of  great  service  in  reading  the  original  manu- 
script, in  going  over  the  proof,  and  particularly  in 
preparing  the  index.  Her  suggestions  have  been 
uniformly  helpful.  Then  there  is  my  daughter,  Au- 
gusta, who  rendered  valuable  assistance  in  the  matter 
of  looking  up  historical  references,  verifying  quotations, 
and  rounding  out  the  hst  of  events  in  the  March  of 
Democracy,  as  set  forth  under  Fact  VIII.  Such 
helpers  have  made  the  work  a  delight. 

I  should  add  that  the  material  in  Fact  IV  was  printed 
in  the  *' Envelope  Series"  of  the  American  Board, 
under  the  title,  ''The  War  and  World  Unity.'' 

C.  H.  P. 

Jaiiuary  1,  1919, 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Why  These  Ten  Facts  ? vii 

FACT  I 
The  Renaissance  of  Asia 1 

FACT  II 
The  Decadence  of   the   Non-Christian  Re- 
ligions   : 20 

FACT  III 
The  Rapid  Extension  of  Christianity 39 

FACT   IV 
The  East  and  the  West  Fight  for  a  Com- 
mon Cause 65 

FACT  V 
The  East  Looks  to  America  for  Example 

AND  Help 91 

FACT   VI 
America  Breaks  from  Her  Isolation 113 

FACT  VII 
America  and  Great  Britain  in  a  Fellowship 

OF  Service 133 

FACT  VIII 
Democracy  Becomes  the  Organizing  Princi- 
ple OF  THE  World 157 

FACT  IX 
Rise  of  the  New  Idealism 179 

FACT  X 
The  Church  Girds  Herself  for  Her  Great 

Task 201 

xi 


WORLD  FACTS  AND 
AMERICA'S  RESPONSIBILITY 


FACT   I 
THE  RENAISSANCE  OF  ASIA 

It  has  long  been  an  accepted  idea  that  the  four  most 
prominent  events  of  modern  history  are  the  Invasion  of 
the  Roman  Empire  by  the  Barbarians,  the  Crusades, 
the  Renaissance,  and  the  French  Revolution.  The 
continent  of  Asia,  with  its  population  of  850,000,000 
has  been  passed  by  in  silence.  Historians  of  the 
modern  world,  as  a  rule,  have  been  content  to  add  a 
few  paragraphs  in  smaU  print  at  the  end  of  their  sec- 
tions, in  which  they  have  paid  their  respects  to  India, 
China,  and  Japan.  The  reader  was  reminded  that 
these  nations  occupied  a  place  on  the  map,  but  were 
not  to  be  considered  as  participating  in  the  affairs  of 
the  great  world. 

It  is  far  different  today.  Since  the  Anglo-Japanese 
Agreement  of  1902,  the  Russo-Japanese  War  of  1904, 
and  particularly  since  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War, 
Western  people  have  begun  to  reaUze  that  the  East  is 
to  be  reckoned  with  as  an  integral  part  of  the  world's 
life.  Yet  few  grasp  the  significance  of  this  fact.  The 
rapidity  of  the  movement  in  the  Eastern  hemisphere 

1 


2  WORLD  FACTS 

has  been  such  that  only  those  who  cUmb  high  towers 
take  in  the  situation.  We  do  well  to  remember  that  as 
late  as  1894  Russia  was  considered  by  many  writers 
as  the  leading  military  power,  the  only  real  menace  to 
world  peace.  The  papers  at  that  time  were  printing 
"scare-head"  articles  on  the  danger  of  the  "Russian- 
ization  of  the  world."  The  Russian  Bear  was  the 
favorite  symbol  of  the  cartoonists.  British  statesmen 
were  gravely  concerned  over  Russia's  designs  upon 
India.  The  progress  of  the  Siberian  railway  was 
watched  with  anxiety.  Senator  Beveridge  of  Indiana, 
returning  from  a  trip  to  Siberia,  was  lecturing  on  "The 
Slav  Peril,"  and  later  wrote  a  sensational  book  on 
"The  Russian  Advance."  In  1903  a  prominent  bishop 
of  an  American  church  came  out  with  a  book  fon  world 
movements  which  contained  this  astonishing  state- 
ment: 

"We  are  up  against  an  inexorable  proposition.  As 
we  peer  into  the  mists  that  veil  the  future,  coming 
events  cast  their  shadows  toward  us.  There  is  a  huge 
figure  approaching.  It  has  a  fur  cloak  over  its 
shoulders,  and  a  club  in  its  hands.  It  may  be  the 
coming  Hercules.  Looking  more  closely  it  is  a  Bear, 
'The  Bear  that  walks  like  a  man.'  If  Russia  appro- 
priates and  assimilates  China,  we  are  face  to  face  with 
the  most  powerful  empire  ever  known  among  men.  .  .  . 
The  strife  of  all  time  will  be  to  decide  whether  the 
commerce  of  the  Pacific,  which  will  be  the  bulk  of  the 
world's  commerce,  which  will  mean  the  dominating 
power  of  the  world,  shall  be  Russian  or  American, 
whether  the  Pacific  with  its  interests  shall  be  Slav  or 
Saxon,  shall  be  for  absolutism  or  liberty.  Almost  in 
spite  of  ourselves,  certainly  by  no  planning  of  our  own, 
we  are  being  put  in  shape  for  this  struggle.  Our 
decks  are  being  cleared  for  action." 


THE  RENAISSANCE  OF  ASIA  3 

It  is  a  grim  piece  of  humor  that  in  the  same  book 
this  author  pictured  Germany  in  alUance  with  England 
as  the  best  hope  of  Europe. 

T-oday  writers  of  the  same  temperament  and  out- 
look upon  world  affairs  are  warning  us  against  Japan, 
and  with  about  equal  reason.  They  are  talking  about 
the  ''deadly  yellow  peril";  they  dwell  upon  ''the  irre- 
pressible conflict  with  the  East"  and  urge  with  the  per- 
fervid  bishop  that  even  now  we  should  "clear  our  decks 
for  action."  Could  anything  emphasize  more  strongly 
the  new  position  of  the  East  in  world  affairs  than  this 
substitution  of  Japan  for  Russia  as  an  object  of  dread? 

How  about  this  awakening  of  Asia  ?  Are  we  to  con- 
sider the  emergence  of  the  Eastern  nations  upon  the 
world  scene  as  a  distinctly  new  event  in  human  his- 
tory? Will  the  historian  of  the  future  add  Asia's 
Renaissance  to  the  most  prominent  events  of  the 
modern  period?  Clearly  not.  What  has  happened  is 
that  Asia  has  joined  the  world.  The  Western  culture 
has  projected  itself  eastward,  as  formerly  the  Eastern 
culture  projected  itself  westward.  The  Renaissance  of 
Asia  completes  the  Renaissance  of  Europe.  There  is 
to  be  one  standard,  one  hfe  for  the  world.  This  is  a 
fact  of  momentous  import,  even  if  it  does  not  mark  a 
new  era  in  history.  It  bears  vitally  upon  the  problem 
of  the  permanent  peace  of  the  world. 

The  Modernization  of  Japan 

Certainly  no  one  will  deny  that  Japan  today  is  an 
integral  part  of  our  civilization.  When  we  consider 
the  efficiency  of  her  army  and  navy,  her  superb  edu- 
cational system,  her  commercial  enterprise,  and  her 


4  WORLD  FACTS 

successful  adoption  of  our  devices  for  banking,  manu- 
actunng,  transportation,  and  the  organization  of  city 
life,  we  must  accord  her  a  high  place  in  the  sisterhood 
of  modern  states.     It  is  a  question  whether  in  certain 
departments,  such  as  education,  she  has  not  surpassed 
her  teachers.     Just  now  Japan  is  quietly  at  work  cap- 
turmg  the  trade  with  the  West  which  hitherto  has  been 
monopohzed  by  Germany.     Her  merchants  and  manu- 
facturers are  in  evidence  in  New  York,  Chicago,  San 
Francisco,  as  never  before;    possibly  also  in  London 
and  Pans.     Taking  advantage  of  war  conditions,  Jap- 
anese  houses   have   been   turning  out   goods   wholly 
Western  in  style  and  usage,  which  formerly  we  made 
at  honie  or  imported  from  Europe.     Formerly  we  knew 
at  a  glance  when  an  article  was  made  in  Japan  -  the 
characteristics  of  that  land  of  art  and  quaintness  were 
conveyed  m  texture  and  design  and  even  in  the  wrap- 
pings.    Today  there  is  Uttle  distinction.     Their  mar- 
ket m  the  West  supplies  not  only  our  parlor  walls  and 
cabinets,  but  our  wardrobes  and  our  kitchen  pantries 
It  will  soon  be  supplying  the  drug  counter  and  the 
hardware  shelf. 

AH  of  this  has  happened  since  1853,  practically  since 
1871,  when,  abolishing  the  feudal  system,  Japan  set  up 
housekeeping  as  a  modern  state.  The  extent  of  the 
transformation  is  realized  when  we  recall  conditions  in 
the  pre-Meiji  era.  Count  Okakura  Kakuzo  charac- 
terizes the  state  of  his  country  before  the  adoption  of 
parliamentary  gove-nment  by  the  words  "buried  alive  " 
Except  for  a  small  trade  with  the  Dutch  through  a 
single  port,  the  land  was  sealed  tight  against  the  out- 
side world.    Feudahsm  had  remained  undisturbed  for 


THE  RENAISSANCE  OF  ASIA  5 

seven  hundred  years.  The  caste  system  appeared 
firmly  entrenched.  Internal  conditions  were  of  a 
shocking  character.  Smallpox,  typhus,  dysentery  rav- 
aged the  communities  undeterred.  There  was  not  a 
hospital  in  the  country.  Illiteracy  was  well  nigh 
universal.  Religion  was  little  more  than  superstition. 
The  population  was  25,000,000.  From  such  a  low 
level  has  Japan  leaped  to  her  present  position  among 
the  nations.  Japan  in  fifty  years  has  made  as  much 
progress  as  Europe  in  five  hundred  years.  That  she 
has  accompHshed  this  through  the  wholesale  adoption 
of  Western  ways  is,  of  course,  to  be  kept  prominently 
in  mind,  yet  it  serves  to  emphasize  the  achievement  as 
typical  of  processes  which  may  lead  to  similar  trans- 
formations in  other  parts  of  the  world.  The  rapidity 
of  social  evolution  under  modern  conditions  offers  one 
of  the  strongest  grounds  for  hope  when  we  consider  the 
future  of  the  backward  races. 

In  all  this  change  the  mental  attitude  of  the  Japanese 
has  been  a  prime  factor.  Europe  and  America  have 
been  the  model  ready  to  hand  and  there  have  been 
many  wilUng  teachers;  but  without  a  certain  mental 
alertness  and  open-mindedness  Japan  would  never 
have  reached  the  head  of  the  Asiatic  procession.  There 
was  first  of  all  the  determination  to  win.  "Second  to 
None"  has  been  the  motto  of  the  "Era  of  Enlighten- 
ment," as  she  loves  to  characterize  the  days  since  the 
Emperor  came  to  the  front  in  national  affairs.  Japan 
was  willing  to  learn;  she  did  not  consider  it  unworthy 
for  a  nation  to  be  humble-minded.  She  revealed  her 
quahty  when  she  brought  experts  from  the  West  and 
retained  them  in  her  midst,  with  honorable  estate  and 


6  WORLD  FACTS 

generous  pay,  until  such  time  as  her  own  sons  should 
become  leaders  in  every  department  of  Hfe.  We  recall 
the  names  of  Colonel  William  S.  Clark,  Dr.  WiUiam 
ElUot  Griffis,  and  Lafcadio  Hearn  as  standing  for  the 
best  in  science,  education,  and  literature.  Japan 
looked  even  farther  ahead  when  she  enrolled  her 
choicest  sons  in  the  universities  and  technical  schools 
of  the  West;  and  farther  still  when  her  commission 
toured  the  world  for  the  study  of  pubHc  education  in 
America  and  Europe.  She  now  enrolls  ninety-eight 
per  cent  of  the  school  population  and  claims  a  Hteracy 
above  that  of  any  other  land. 

The  crowning  achievement  in  Japan's  rapid  upward 
chmb  is  the  preservation  of  the  national  temperament 
and  spirit.  The  taunt  is  often  made  that  the  Japanese 
are  mere  copyists  of  the  West.  Certainly,  aside  from 
the  realm  of  pure  art,  we  can  not  accord  them  a  high 
place  for  originality  and  genius.  They  do  not  compare 
favorably  in  this  respect  with  either  the  Chinese  or  the 
Indians;  but  to  credit  them  with  nothing  but  a  slavish 
imitation  is  to  miss  a  fundamental  factor  in  Japan's 
progress.  In  spite  of  the  tide  of  Western  life  which  has 
poured  in  upon  them  and  received  so  warm  a  welcome, 
they  remain  essentially  Japanese.  No  traveler  mis- 
takes this  fact,  and  no  well-wisher  for  the  race  would 
have  it  otherwise.  Ambassador  Reinsch,  of  Peking, 
has  this  to  say  of  Japan: 

''While  an  unprecedented  social  change  was  going  on, 
and  wliile  the  entire  mechanism  of  Western  industrial 
Ufe  was  being  rapidly  adopted,  the  leaders  in  this 
movement  were  animated  with  the  desire  not  to  copy 
Western  civilization,  but  to  assimilate  those  methods 
which  would  render  them  able  to  defend  their  own 


THE  RENAISSANCE  OF  ASIA  7 

civilization  against  oppression  or  usurpation  by  the 
better  armed  nations  of  the  world.  No  other  hypoth- 
esis is  possible,  because  it  is  unthinkable  that  a  na- 
tion should  give  up  its  essential  customs  and  beliefs, 
and  still  retain  a  unified  and  energetic  national  life. 
Thus,  while  the  Japanese  have  learned  our  methods 
and  have  successfully  analyzed  our  system,  they  have 
remained  loyal  to  the  spirit  of  their  own  historic  past."^ 

Whatever  Japan  may  or  may  not  achieve  in  the 
future,  to  her  belongs  the  credit  of  being  the  first  to 
abolish  the  old  isolation  of  Asia.  Tagore,  the  Indian 
philosopher-poet,  pays  Japan  the"  tribute  that  she 
showed  the  way  and  broke  the'  illusion,  which  had 
become  a  settled  conviction,  that  progress  was  im- 
possible in  the  East.  It  will  be  a  natural,  shall  we  not 
say  inevitable,  step  in  advance  when,  as  the  leader 
among  the  Oriental  nations,  Japan  comes  out  squarely 
for  a  common  ethical  and  rehgious  standard  of  Ufe  for 
the  world.  There  are  those  who  maintain  with  Dr. 
Griffis  that  Japan  is  ''the  true  middle  term  in  the  surely 
coming  unity  and  reconcihation  of  the  Orient  and  the 
Occident." 

China  Breaks  with  Her  Past 

''China  is  the  theater  of  the  greatest  movement  now 
taking  place  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  In  comparison 
with  it,  the  agitation  in  Russia  shrinks  to  insignificance; 
for  it  is  not  political,  but  social.  Its  object  is  not  a 
changed  dynasty,  nor  a  revolution  in  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment; but,  with  higher  aim  and  deeper  motive, 
it  promises  nothing  short  of  the  complete  renovation  of 
the  oldest,  most  populous,  and  most  conservative  of 

^  P.  S.  Reinsch,  "Intellectual  and  Political  Currents  of  the 
Far  East,"  p.  32. 


8  WORLD  FACTS 

empires.  When,  some  thirty  years  ago,  Japan  adopted 
the  outward  forms  of  Western  civiUzation,  her  action 
was  regarded  by  many  as  a  stage  trick  —  a  sort  of 
travesty  employed  for  a  temporary  purpose.  But 
what  do  they  think  now,  when  they  see  cabinets  and 
chambers  of  commerce  compelled  to  reckon  with  the 
British  of  the  North  Pacific?  The  awakening  of 
Japan's  huge  neighbor  promises  to  yield  results  equally 
startling  and  on  a  vastly  extended  scale." 

Thus  wrote  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin  in  1906.  Since  then 
Russia  has  had  her  great  revolution,  resulting  in  the 
overthrow  of  her  monarchical  government  and  the 
setting  up  of  the  republican  regime.  Still  Dr.  Martin's 
words  stand  true.  China  preceded  Russia  by  six  years 
in  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  bondage,  has  shown  far 
more  ability  in  the  understanding  of  democratic  ideals, 
in  the  reshaping  of  her  institutions,  and,  whatever  may 
be  thought  as  to  the  ultimate  success  of  the  experiment, 
has  at  least  made  it  impossible  for  the  Manchu  dy- 
nasty ever  to  return  to  power.  The  attempt  of  these 
two  countries  with  their  untrained  officials  and  their 
vast  illiterate  population  to  attain  democracy  at  a 
bound  is  one  of  the  most  pathetic,  if  inspiring,  spec- 
tacles of  history.  Whatever  may  be  our  judgment  as 
to  the  outcome,  we  must  admit  that  China  does  not 
suffer  by  the  comparison. 

The  cleavage  point  between  the  new  and  the  old  in 
China's  awakening  was  the  disastrous  war  with  Japan 
in  1894.  Through  that  humiUation,  as  by  one  flash  of 
intelligence,  China  came  to  realize  that  she  was  hope- 
lessly outclassed  in  efficiency.  Japan  she  had  con- 
sidered her  inferior,  not  only  in  numbers,  but  in  in- 
telligence and  fighting  quaUties.     '*  A  nation  of  dwarfs," 


THE  RENAISSANCE  OF  ASIA  9 

"people  hardly  civilized/'  was  her  way  of  characteriz- 
ing the  Japanese.  Yet,  after  a  struggle  lasting  only 
six  months,  China  was  humbly  accepting  what  Japan 
had  to  offer.  History  records  no  ruder  or  more  salu- 
tary awakening.  The  Boxer  uprising,  instigated  by 
the  Dowager  Empress  and  the  Manchu  officials,  fol- 
lowed this  event,  but  it  proved  to  be  the  death  struggle 
of  a  system  which  had  already  lost  its  grip.  The  ad- 
vance made  since  that  time  has  been  truly  remarkable. 
The  first  step  was  throwing  wide  open  the  doors  to 
foreign  diplomacy  and  commerce.  China  joined  the 
world.  The  next  step  was  the  institution  of  West- 
ern science  and  education  as  the  basis  of  her  new 
life.  This  required  a  reconstruction  of  the  educational 
system.  The  memorizing  of  the  classics,  a  mechanical 
process  with  sHght  relation  to  character  and  none  at  all 
to  practical  efficiency,  had  been  the  backbone  of  her 
education  for  two  thousand  years.  The  mental  [toil 
exacted  by  this  process  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
not  less  than  30,000  Chinese  characters  had  to  be 
learned  by  a  student  who  would  acquire  proper  literary 
style.  The  tests  were  given  in  examination  stalls, 
scarcely  four  feet  square,  where  for  a  period  of  three 
days  the  students  were  left  in  complete  isolation,  un- 
able even  to  recline.  It  is  not  surprising  that  under 
these  physical  conditions  and  in  view  of  the  terrific 
mental  strain,  rarely  was  an  examination  held  in  which 
some  student  was  not  found  dead  in  his  cell.  All  this 
was  abofished  at  a  stroke.  Travelers  today  bring 
back  pictures  of  these  ancient  stalls,  in  multitudinous 
rows,  standing  deserted  and  in  a  crumbHng  state,  fit 
symbols  of  the  passing  of  the  old  regime.    In  place  of 


10  WORLD  FACTS 

the  classical  memory  halls  we  find  now  a  complete 
system  of  pubhc  schools,  of  primary,  grammar,  and 
high-school  grades,  with  Western  branches  —  geo- 
graphy, history,  physics,  and  chemistry  —  taught 
alongside  of  proper  Chinese  subjects.  Provincial 
universities  for  the  districts  and  the  University  of 
Peking  for  the  nation  at  large  crown  this  admirable 
scheme.  The  last  figures  obtainable  show  nearly 
40,000  public  schools,  with  an  enrolment  above  a 
milUon.  Coincident  with  this  process  the  Government 
began  to  send  selected  students  to  Europe,  America, 
and  Japan  —  15,000  to  Japan  alone  —  for  special 
training  and  for  the  closer  study  of  the  Western  arts 
and  civilization.  It  is  to  the  shame  of  Japan  that  she 
did  so  poorly  by  these  students.  The  majority  of 
them  were  so  undone  in  their  morals  that  China  is 
constrained  to  look  farther  away  for  help.  Japan, 
with  all  her  progress,  was  not  morally  big  enough  to 
undertake  such  a  trust.  There  are  now  about  1,400 
Chinese  students  in  the  United  States. 

Transportation  and  commerce  early  demanded  the 
attention  of  the  new  order.  In  the  lack  of  capital, 
concessions  were  granted  to  foreign  corporations,  and 
railroad  extension  began  with  a  rush.  A  trunk  line 
running  southward  from  Peking  connects  the  capital 
with  Hankow,  the  commercial  center  of  the  great 
Yangtze  valley,  the  Chicago  of  the  Chinese  repubhc. 
This  line  is  being  extended  to  Canton,  and  thus  the  two 
divergent,  not  to  say  antagonistic  sections  of  the  coun- 
try, will  be  brought  together.  Another  fine  will  join 
the  rich  province  of  Szechuan  in  the  interior  with  the 
river  transportation  system  of  the  Yangtze.    Various 


THE  RENAISSANCE  OF  ASIA  11 

other  minor  lines  are  projected.  By  such  means  the 
Government  has  been  able  to  build  up  an  excellent 
postoffice  system  that  reaches  the  leading  cities  and 
interior  towns,  and  is  proving  of  incalculable  value  as  a 
binding  element  for  the  widely  scattered  districts  and 
divergent  populations.  Factories  are  springing  up  at 
commercial  centers,  in  which  Western  machinery  is 
taking  the  place  of  hand  labor.  The  public  press  has 
seen  a  remarkable  development.  The  Chinese  are  a 
reading  people,  and  the  hundreds  of  journals  which  are 
issued  from  centers  hke  Peking,  Tientsin,  Shanghai, 
Hankow,  Foochow,  and  Canton  are  eagerly  scanned, 
and  exert  a  far-reaching  influence.  China  contains  the 
greatest  coal  deposits  in  the  world.  Iron  and  pe- 
troleum are  abundant.  It  is  therefore  a  highly  favor- 
able sign  that  stock  companies  are  being  formed  akin 
to  those  in  the  West  for  the  development  of  these  and 
other  natural  resources.  The  Chinese  are  learning  to 
trust  one  another.  With  such  vast  wealth  under  their 
feet  they  will  not  always  remain  in  their  present  pov- 
erty and  helplessness. 

The  development  of  governmental  institutions,  hke 
the  army  and  navy,  law  courts,  police  protection, 
pubhc  sanitation,  a  trained  diplomatic  service,  have 
been  coincident  with  the  growth  of  the  democratic  idea 
and  the  estabhshing  of  the  republic  in  1911.  Through 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  the  new  regime  the  great  goal  of  a 
Westernized  Orient  has  not  been  lost  to  sight. 

The  greatest  test  of  all  has  been  China's  wilHngness 
to  give  up  the  ancient  customs  which  hampered  her 
development.  From  the  beginning  of  history  con- 
querors of  aUen  civiUzations  have  been  brought  up 


12  WORLD  FACTS' 

standing  when  attempting  to  change  the  customs  of  the 
land.  China  has  taken  this  matter  into  her  own 
hands.  A  prominent  Chinese  educator,  when  visiting 
the  United  States,  was  asked  what  change  in  his  coun- 
try he  considered  most  significant.  He  thrust  his 
hand  behind  his  head  and  made  a  comical  gesture  as  of 
one  using  a  pair  of  shears.  The  voluntary  abolition 
of  the  queue,  first  in  the  army,  then  among  students, 
then  in  commercial  centers,  and  now  increasingly 
throughout  the  land,  is  a  sufficient  answer  to  those 
who  would  question  the  depth  of  China's  purpose  to 
become  an  integral  part  of  the  world.  If  anything 
else  is  needed,  consider  the  prohibition  of  the  opium 
traffic,  which  had  been  forced  upon  China  by  outside 
nations,  but  which  she  dealt  with  in  a  way  peculiarly 
her  own.  With  some  25,000,000  people  addicted  to 
the  foreign  drug,  the  passing  and  enforcing  of  a  pro- 
hibitory measure  was  a  task  from  which  the  most  cen- 
tralized and  favored  nation  might  well  shrink.  Yet 
China  cast  out  the  evil  thing  with  scarcely  a  ripple  of 
excitement.  Since  the  edict  went  into  effect  in  De- 
cember, 1917,  practically  no  opium  has  been  sold  in 
China,  except  for  medicinal  purposes.  This  is  an 
achievement  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  reform. 
Taking  it  altogether,  may  it  not  be  said  that  China 
has  made  almost  as  much  progress  in  fifteen  years  as 
Japan  made  in  half  a  century?  When  we  consider 
that  these  changes  have  occurred  among  a  people  until 
a  few  years  ago  characterized  as  unresponsive,  inert, 
and  hopelessly  conservative,  regarding  it  a  crime  to 
attempt  to  improve  upon  the  past,  and  holding  the 
outside  world  in  scorn,  even  the  best  historical  par- 


THE  RENAISSANCE  OF  ASIA  13 

all  els  fail  to  impress.  China,  better  than  any  other 
land,  illustrates  the  aptness  of  Taine's  remark  when  he 
described  the  Renaissance  as  a  process  by  which  nations 
attained  ideas  wholesale,  not  by  bits.  China,  once 
known  as  the  oldest,  slowest,  and  most  conservative 
of  states,  has  set  a  new  pace  for  Asia  and  the  world. 

The  Awakening  in  India 

India's  awakening  has  been  a  gradual  one,  but  a 
convenient  starting  point  is  the  year  1905,  when  Japan 
gained  her  victory  over  Russia.  This  achievement 
sent  a  thrill  throughout  the  Asiatic  nations.  With 
marvelous  rapidity  the  news  penetrated  to  the  remot- 
est corners  of  the  continent.  A  few  days  after  Witte 
and  Komura  signed  the  Treaty  of  Portsmouth,  the 
fact  was  known  and  discussed  by  the  tribesmen  of 
Afghanistan,  Turkestan,  and  Tibet.  Everywhere  in 
the  bazaars  it  was  recognized  as  an  Oriental  victory. 
The  East  had  prevailed  over  the  West  in  a  fair  fight. 
An  obscure  Burmese  villager  was  heard  to  remark, 
'^And  we,  too,  are  brown  men." 

In  India  the  effect  was  electrical.  The  argument 
ran  in  this  fashion:  ^'If  Japan  with  her  fifty  miUions 
could  beat  Russia  with  her  one  hundred  and  fifty 
millions,  what  should  prevent  India  with  her  three 
hundred  milHons  from  overcoming  England  with  her 
meager  forty-five  millions?"  This  statement  of  the 
case  was  exceedingly  popular  in  certain  circles;  but  it 
is  to  the  credit  of  the  Indian  leaders  generally  that 
they  were  not  misled  by  such  naive  mathematics. 
What  they  did  was  to  begin  forthwith  the  study  of  the 
underlying  causes  of  Japan's  success.    At  that  time 


14  WORLD   FACTS 

the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  India  in- 
vited two  representative  Japanese  Christians  to  visit 
the  larger  cities  and  speak  to  the  educated  men.  One 
of  these  was  Rev.  Tasuku  Harada,  President  of  the 
Doshisha,  the  Christian  college  which  was  founded  by 
the  famous  Joseph  Neesima.  Great  meetings  were 
held  in  the  leading  cities  of  India,  and  the  messages  of 
the  Japanese  delegates  were  listened  to  with  profound 
attention.  The  deputation  had  one  message  for  every- 
place: ''What  Japan  has  done,  India  can  do.  Will 
you  do  it?  Japan  has  abolished  caste.  Will  you? 
Japan  has  given  education  to  her  women.  Will  you? 
Japan,  with  open  mind,  has  received  truth  from  every 
quarter.  Will  you  do  the  same?  Be  ready  for  sacri- 
fice and  to  act,  not  dream."  At  the  final  meeting  Dr. 
Harada  closed  his  impassioned  appeal  for  India  to 
throw  off  her  age-long  habit  of  idle  contemplation  and 
to  take  an  interest  in  practical  affairs  by  citing  Mat- 
thew Arnold's  lines, 

''The  East  bowed  low  before  the  blast, 

In  patient,  deep  disdain 
She  let  the  legions  thunder  past. 

Then  plunged  in  thought  again." 

Whether  or  not  this  particular  message  sank  into  the 
hearts  of  the  Indian  leaders  we  do  not  know;  but 
looking  back  upon  the  events  of  the  past  ten  years, 
and  especially  considering  the  reaction  to  the  World 
War,  we  can  say  with  confidence  that  India  of  late  has 
been  engaged  in  something  besides  meditation.  In 
every  part  of  the  land  we  detect  signs  of  an  awakening 
and  aggressive  national  consciousness. 

Soon  after  the  Russo-Japanese  War  there  arose  in 


THE  RENAISSANCE  OF  ASIA  15 

the  Province  of  Bengal  the  Swadesi  Movement,  which, 
while  httle  more  than  an  attempted  boycott  against 
European  goods,  had  its  poHtical  and  social  aspects 
and  served  to  indicate  the  new  interest  which  had 
arisen.  In  those  days  the  papers  of  Calcutta  con- 
tained advertisements  Hke  this: 

*' Patronize  mother-country  by  purchasing  country- 
made  goods.  Essence  White  Rose  12  annas;  Otto-de 
Rose,  no  way  inferior  to  Enghsh  and  French  ones, 
Rs.  1.4.  We  beg  to  inform  patriotic  pubhc  that  all 
sorts  of  country-made  dhoties,  chaddars,  bed-sheets, 
coatings,  shirtings,  etc.,  are  sold  here  at  a  very  fixed 
and  moderate  price.  Buy  the  Swadesi  ulsters,  the 
strongest,  the  beautifuUest,  the  best."  ^ 

Advertisements  of  this  character,  amusing  as  they 
seem,  were  a  sort  of  economic  declaration  of  indepen- 
dence. Of  more  significance  were  the  editorials  of  the 
native  press,  in  which  we  find  such  expressions  as  these: 
''The  situation  is  critical  indeed."  ''Wermust  ever 
bear  in  mind  that  the  honor  of  India  is  at  present  in 
our  keeping."  ''We  have  already  given  unmistakable 
proofs  of  our  capacity  for  organization  and  sustained 
work."  "In  the  name  of  our  beloved  country  and  for 
her  sacred  cause  ...  we  have  been  forced  into  this 
heroic  struggle." 

The  Swadesi  Movement  soon  subsided,  as  too  re- 
stricted in  its  scope  to  affect  the  national  life;  but 
two  new  notes  were  sounded  which  have  carried  far 
and  wide,  the  notes  of  nationahsm  and  of  a  practical 
self-assertion.  Ten  years  ago  it  was  the  custom  of 
travelers  to  say  that  India,  because  of  her  150  lan- 


2  See  "A  Vision  of  India,"  by  Sidney  Low,  Chap.  XXIV. 


16  WORLD  FACTS 

guages,  her  innumerable  castes,  her  intolerant  religious 
systems,  and  her  warring  races,  would  never  be  more 
than  a  geographical  term.  Such  a  thing  as  national 
unity  was  regarded  as  out  of  the  question.  Assertions 
of  this  kind  are  not  being  made  today.  The  subtle 
forces  of  race  gravitation  and  of  nationaUty  asserting 
themselves  bid  fair  to  rise  above  the  most  adverse  dis- 
tinctions. Who  would  venture  to  set  limits  to  such  a 
movement  ? 

India  today  is  awake.  In  every  department  of 
Hfe  —  politics,  education,  literature,  commerce  —  we 
see  the  signs  of  the  long-delayed  Renaissance.  The 
writer  obtained  his  first  clear  impression  of  the  new 
outlook  of  India  upon  the  world  she  had  despised  when 
visiting  an  interior  city  of  the  Deccan,  where  he  was 
courteously  entertained  by  the  Brahman  Club.  The 
mere  fact  of  the  existence  of  such  an  institution  was 
significant.  Possibly  these  high-caste  gentlemen  felt 
obhged  to  undergo  certain  ablutions  after  associ- 
ating with  a  Western  barbarian,  but  no  such  thought 
hindered  the  most  gracious  hospitahty.  At  the  rear 
of  the  club  building  were  tennis  courts.  Somehow 
the  writer  found  difficulty  in  adjusting  his  mind  to 
the  idea  of  Brahman  dignitaries  with  their  flowing 
robes  disporting  themselves  on  a  modern  tennis  court. 
But  there  they  were,  and  a  most  excellent  game  they 
played!  A  greater  surprise  ensued  when  the  writer 
hstened  to  the  conversation  of  a  group  of  club  members 
in  regard  to  a  journey  to  England  to  attend  the  Corona- 
tion. ''What!  Brahmans  leave  the  country?  Isn't 
that  to  break  caste?" 

^'  Oh,  yes,"  was  the  laconic  reply,  *'it  used  to  be  that 


THE  RENAISSANCE  OF  ASIA  17 

way;  but  we  are  getting  over  such  notions.  Quite  a 
number  of  us  here  are  going.  In  fact,  we  have  char- 
tered a  large  section  of  a  steamer." 

''But  how  about  your  food?  Will  you  not  be 
obhged  to  accept  the  regular  service  of  the  steamer?" 

''We  have  arranged  all  that  satisfactorily,"  was  the 
response.  "We  take  along  our  own  cooks  and  ser- 
vants." 

So  India,  too,  has  joined  the  world.  Travel  where 
you  will  in  that  vast  and  multifarious  land,  you  find 
changes  taking  place  affecting  the  very  structure  of 
society.  Hitherto  the  Western  civilization,  which  has 
been  lying  at  their  very  doorsteps  throughout  the  long 
period  of  British  occupation,  the  Indian  leaders  have 
rejected  with  scornful  superiority.  Today  not  only 
are  they  adopting  this  civilization  without  question, 
but  they  are  utilizing  it  to  promote  their  nationaUstic 
program.  Equality  is  being  claimed  on  the  basis  not 
of  Oriental  but  of  Western  standards  and  ways.  The 
new  hfe  of  the  West  is  becoming  indigenous.  It  is 
taking  on  the  tinge  of  Indian  temperament  and  custom. 
The  signs  of  a  changing  hfe  are  on  every  side.  In  the 
cities  the  cotton  mill  and  the  department  store  vie 
with  the  temples  as  features  which  catch  the  eye.  In 
the  villages  the  hfe  appears  wholly  Oriental  as  to 
costume,  architecture,  and  the  habits  of  the  home; 
but  when  the  people  go  on  pilgrimages,  which  they  do 
with  great  frequency  and  assiduity,  they  are  eager  to 
use  the  excellent  train  service  provided  by  the  Govern- 
ment, and  when  they  reach  the  holy  places  they  think 
none  the  less  of  the  gods  whose  shrines  are  illumined 
by  British  lamps  filled  with  American  kerosene. 


18  WORLD  FACTS 

In  the  growing  demand  for  universal  primary  edu- 
cation and  in  the  introduction  of  science  in  the  courses 
of  their  higher  schools,  we  detect  a  changing  mental 
attitude  which  is  even  more  significant  than  the  adop- 
tion of  outward  Western  ways.  Everywhere  an  in- 
ternal development  is  going  on  under  the  stimulus  of 
the  new  environment.  ''The  world  flood  has  swept 
over  our  country,"  says  Tagore  in  his  '' Nationalism," 
*'new  elements  have  been  introduced  and  wider  ad- 
justments are  waiting  to  be  made."  The  mild  protest 
which  the  Indian  poet  makes  against  this  tendency 
serves  but  to  emphasize  the  extent  and  power  of  the 
movement.  ''India  is  right  in  it,"  was  the  way  a 
blunt  American  described  the  situation  when  returning 
from  his  travels. 

Summing  up  the  Eastern  world  situation,  we  find 
that  Asia  is  demonstrating  on  a  magnificent  scale  the 
essential  unity  of  the  race.  These  nations  are  re- 
minding us  of  the  words  of  the  Psalmist,  "From  the 
place  of  his  habitation  he  looketh  upon  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  earth.  He  fashioneth  their  hearts  alike" 
(Psalm  33  :  15).  Writers  hke  Meredith  Townsend  can 
argue  that  the  differences  between  the  East  and  the 
West  are  fundamental  and  that  no  common  life  is 
possible  between  such  extremes  of  temperament;  but 
the  facts  overwhelmingly  assert  the  opposite.  A  com- 
mon fife  has  already  been  established;  not  the  life  of 
half  the  world  conquering  the  other  half,  but  the  life 
of  humanity  recognizing  common  standards,  attaining 
common  goals. 

Isaac  Taylor  used  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the   three  most   precious   possessions   of   the   Anglo- 


THE  RENAISSANCE  OF  ASIA  19 

Saxon  peoples  came  from  the  East:  our  Bible,  our 
Christ,  and  our  alphabet.  If  this  be  true,  has  the  West 
cause  for  boasting  over  the  East?  If  this  be  true,  can 
the  East  do  aught  but  rejoice  that  her  civihzation  after 
its  Western  development  comes  back  to  her  so  wonder- 
fully enriched  ? 

In  all  this  process  we  are  to  recognize  that  modern 
inventions,  especially  those  connected  with  steam  and 
electricity,  have  been  a  great  factor  in  tying  us  up  in 
one  bundle.  Dr.  Sidney  Gulick  makes  a  forceful 
statement  of  the  intertwining  process  when  he  says: 

''Steam  and  electricity  are  abohshing  time  and  space 
and  are  making  all  nations  and  races  immediate  neigh- 
bors geographically.  Science,  popular  education, 
travel,  commerce,  postal  facilities,  literature,  and  the 
press  are  bringing  all  mankind  toward  a  common  Hfe 
and  a  common  mind  "^ 

This  is  quite  true,  yet  let  us  not  forget  that  the  basis 
of  race  unity  hes  in  the  race  and  not  in  the  inventions 
and  contrivances  of  any  one  section  of  the  race.  The 
thing  had  to  be.  The  races,  being  made  of  one  blood, 
were  bound  to  find  it  out.  That  they  have  found  it 
out  is  a  fact  of  stupendous  importance,  a  fact  that 
should  strengthen  our  hope  for  the  future.  To  speak 
of  the  Renaissance  of  Asia  is  much  more  than  a  figure. 
It  means  that  the  East  and  the  West,  in  glorious  part- 
nership, gathering  from  every  quarter  the  best  things 
of  Hfe,  henceforth  are  to  press  towards  a  common  goal. 

2  "A  New  Era  in  Human  History,"  p.  4. 


FACT  II 

THE  DECADENCE   OF   THE  NON-CHRISTIAN 
RELIGIONS 

After  the  Renaissance  the  Reformation.  As  in 
Europe  the  intellectual  awakening  of  the  fifteenth 
century  led  to  a  reexamination  of  the  grounds  of 
rehgious  belief  and  practice,  resulting  in  the  break 
with  Rome  and  the  rise  of  Protestantism,  so  in  Asia 
today  we  find  a  rapidly  developing  movement  of 
doubt  and  protest  in  respect  to  the  prevailing  religious 
systems.  This  movement  of  late  has  assumed  the 
proportions  of  a  tidal  wave.  It  is  possibly  the  out- 
standing fact  of  the  religious  world  of  our  time.  ''The 
non-Christian  religions,"  says  a  careful  observer,  ''are 
being  stormed  at  with  the  shot  and  shell  of  Western 
science,  and  they  cannot  stand  the  stress  of  the  present- 
day  siege."  Another  writer  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that 
the  Asiatic  faiths,  without  a  single  exception,  are  in  a 
moribund  condition  and  some  of  them  are  tottering  to 
a  fall.  The  extent  of  this  revolution  in  the  religious 
thought  of  the  Orient  may  be  best  set  forth  by  con- 
sidering the  situation  in  respect  to  Japan,  China,  India, 
and  Moslem  lands. 

Buddhism  Losing  Its  Hold  on  Japan 
When  Dr.  Jerome  D.  Davis,  who  went  out  to  Japan 
as  a  missionary  under  the  American  Board  in  1871, 
was  returning  to  his  field  for  what  was  recognized  as 

20 


THE  NON-CHRISTIAN   RELIGIONS  21 

his  closing  period  of  service  the  writer  asked  him  if  he 
had  any  message  to  leave  with  his  friends  at  home. 
He  replied,  ^'Have  it  clearly  in  mind  that  the  issue  in 
Jap'an  today  is  no  longer  between  Christianity  and 
Buddhism,  but  between  Christianity  and  nothing. 
Japan  has  already  turned  her  back  on  Buddhism  and 
is  now  seeking  for  some  new  basis  for  faith."  This 
striking  generahzation,  essentially  true  at  the  time  it 
was  made,  should  not  be  pressed  today  without  certain 
qualifications.  Japan's  religious  progress  has  been 
characterized  to  such  an  extent  by  reactions  that  we 
should  be  on  our  guard  against  estimating  the  deeper 
currents  of  thought  and  hfe  by  the  surface  indications 
at  a  given  time.  Just  now  Buddhism,  as  represented 
by  the  more  progressive  sects,  is  taking  on  new  forms 
of  self-consciousness  and  assertion.  Some  regard  this 
as  a  genuine  religious  revival.  Certainly  its  activities 
are  much  in  evidence  in  the  leading  centers.  New  and 
expensive  temples  have  recently  been  erected,  schools 
flourish  in  many  places,  an  aggressive  propaganda  is 
maintained,  and  young  men,  not  of  the  priesthood,  are 
coming  to  regard  the  ancestral  faith  as  a  cause  to  be 
promoted  and  are  showing  real  devotion  in  its  behalf. 
It  is  too  soon  to  estimate  the  depth  and  possibihties  of 
this  movement,  but  undoubtedly  the  younger  mission- 
aries are  confronting  conditions  which  those  of  Dr. 
Davis'  era  hardly  dreamed  possible. 

When  we  come  to  a  closer  diagnosis  it  is  interesting 
to  find  that,  to  a  large  extent,  the  Buddhist  revival  is 
based  upon  a  wholesale  adoption  of  the  methods  of  the 
Christian  missionaries.  As  a  recent  traveler  remarked, 
*'The  Japanese  are  good  copyists  in  religion  as  in 


22  WORLD  FACTS 

everything  else."  There  is  scarcely  an  agency  the 
Buddhist  monks  have  employed  in  their  newly  ac- 
quired zeal  which  they  have  not  taken  over  bodily 
from  Christianity,  or  modeled  closely  upon  Christian 
methods.  We  find,  for  instance,  that  they  are  busily 
engaged  in  organizing  Sunday  schools,  in  which  the 
imitation  of  our  church  schools  is  even  carried  to  the 
adaptation  of  Christian  hymns.  In  these  schools  one 
hears  the  youngsters  singing  with  keen  rehsh,  if  without 
deep  conviction,  ''Buddha  loves  me,  this  I  know/' 
''All  hail  the  power  of  Buddha's  name."  Of  late  they 
have  been  establishing  Buddhist  Associations  for  young 
men,  which  they  call  the  "Y.M.B.A."  In  one  in- 
stance they  did  not  even  change  the  third  initial,  but 
unblushingly  announced  a  "Buddhist  Y.M.C.A." 
Similarly  we  find  them  engaging  in  street  preaching 
and  making  use  of  the  stereopticon,  in  fact  of  every 
contrivance  which  Christian  missionaries  have  intro- 
duced and  found  to  be  effective  in  their  campaigns. 

Is  this  rather  slavish  imitation  a  sign  of  weakness  or 
of  strength?  That  may  be  said  to  depend  upon  the 
outcome.  But  one  can  hardly  suppress  the  thought 
that  a  religious  movement  capable  of  meeting  the 
deepest  needs  of  the  human  heart  would  manifest 
sufficient  vitality  to  develop  its  own  expressional 
forms  and  methods  of  advance.  Leroy  Beaulieu  in  his 
"Awakening  of  the  East,"  states  that  Japan  has  ac- 
cepted the  entire  program  of  European  civilization, 
barring  a  few  domestic  usages,  certain  traditions  of 
family  ancestry,  and  religion.  Rather  important  ex- 
ceptions, one  is  inclined  to  remark.  But  just  because 
Japan  refused  to  adopt  Western  religion  in  the  first 


THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  RELIGIONS  23 

instance,  it  is  the  more  significant  that  today  her 
reUgious  leaders  are  compelled  to  copy  the  character- 
istic forms  of  the  Christian  propaganda.  After  all, 
the  vital  thing  in  Christianity  is  the  Christian  spirit, 
and  one  may  weU  doubt  if  any  amount  of  putting  on  of 
the  forms  of  our  faith  is  Hkely  to  revive  the  strength  of 
a  system  which,  having  dominated  Japan  for  over  a 
thousand  years,  has  failed  her  so  signally  in  this  hour 
of  her  moral  need.  Some  one  has  been  bold  enough 
to  suggest  that  Japan  will  be  Christianized  through 
Buddhism  being  Christianized.  This  is  an  interesting 
opinion,  but  it  is  more  creditable  to  the  sympathetic 
quality  than  to  the  judgment  of  the  one  who  made  it; 
since  by  the  common  consent  of  those  who  are  best  in- 
formed Christianized  Buddhism  would  not  be  Buddhism 
at  all. 

Over  against  these  signs  of  an  awakening  conscious- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  Buddhist  leaders,  we  find  un- 
mistakable indications  of  a  lessening  hold  upon  pubHc 
and  private  fife.  In  various  ways  the  Government  has 
expressed  its  concern  over  the  low  state  of  morals, 
arising  from  what  is  considered  to  be  the  slump  in  re- 
ligious belief.  With  the  disintegration  of  the  fabric  of 
the  old  religious  life  and  the  passing  of  the  old-time 
religious  sanctions,  the  officials  discern  an  increasing 
laxity  in  the  virtues  which  underlie  a  successful  state. 
In  this  connection  attention  has  been  called  to  the 
results  of  a  religious  census  which  was  recently  taken  in 
the  Imperial  University  of  Tokio,  in  which  each  stu- 
dent was  asked  to  declare  his  religious  position.  The 
outcome,  as  the  following  figures  show,  was  fairly 
startling: 


24  WORLD  FACTS 

Shintoists 8 

Buddhists 50 

Christians 60 

Atheists 1500 

Agnostics 3000 

Total 4618 

Possibly  the  terms  atheist  and  agnostic  in  Japan  should 
be  allowed  wider  latitude  than  prevails  in  America. 
Yet  making  all  due  allowance,  the  overwhelming  pre- 
ponderance of  those  who  have  broken  with  the  old 
systems  is  impressive.  Could  anything  be  more  signi- 
ficant ?  Could  anything  be  more  alarming  ?  If  Japan, 
in  driving  out  the  evil  spirit  of  superstition,  leaves  her 
house  empty,  swept,  and  garnished,  she  must  not  be 
surprised  if  the  demon  returns  with  seven  other  spirits 
more  evil  than  himself.  No  Japanese  Christian  doubts 
for  a  moment  the  direction  in  which  his  country  must 
turn  for  relief. 

It  was  in  view  of  this  situation  that  the  Government 
in  1884  abolished  the  department  of  religion  which  had 
ceased  to  be  effective  as  a  means  of  national  uplift, 
and  created  a  Bureau  of  Religion  under  the  exclusive 
control  of  the  Minister  of  Education.  If  we  may  not 
regard  this  act  as  a  confession  of  the  failure  of  Shin- 
toism  and  Buddhism  to  provide  an  adequate  ethical 
basis  for  the  national  life,  it  was  at  least  a  determina- 
tion to  seek  relief  in  new  quarters.  Above  all,  it  was 
a  recognition  of  the  prominent  place  which  religion  of 
the  strongly  ethical  type  must  hold  in  the  national 
scheme  of  education. 

Equally  if  not  more  significant  was  the  calling  by  the 
Government  in  1904  of  a  conference  of  religionists,  in 


THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  RELIGIONS  25 

which  Christian  leaders  took  their  place  side  by  side 
with  Shinxoists,  Buddhists,  and  Confucianists.  This 
official  recognition  of  Christianity  attracted  wide  at- 
tention, as  did  also  the  fact  that,  while  the  Buddhist 
and  Shintoist  delegates  made  perfunctory  speeches  and 
in  other  ways  revealed  their  embarrassment,  the 
Christian  leaders  came  to  the  front  with  practical 
suggestions  concerning  the  moral  welfare  of  the  people. 
Recently  an  article  appeared  in  the  Japan  Magazine 
by  Enryo  Inange,  the  ex-President  of  the  Oriental 
University,  on  ''Japan's  Rehgion  Over-Seas,"  in  which 
we  detect  the  characteristic  attitude  of  not  a  few 
thoughtful  Japanese  toward  their  leading  faith.  Ad- 
mitting the  decadent  condition  of  Buddhism  and  call- 
ing attention  to  the  success  of  Christian  missionary 
methods,  this  writer  naively  proposes  that  they  solve 
two  difficulties  at  once,  the  need  of  more  foreign  trade 
and  of  a  religious  reverence,  by  sending  Buddhist 
missionaries  to  Christian  countries.  He  has  convinced 
himself  that  the  missionaries  are  the  precursors  of 
commerce.  Therefore,  since  Japan  needs  commerce, 
she  must  equip  herself  with  missionaries.  The  prop- 
osition is  seriously  made,  and  we  could  wish  it  might 
be  tried,  not  as  promising  large  material  gains,  but  as  a 
demonstration  whether  or  not  Japanese  Buddhism  has 
the  vitality  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  the  world. 
More  frankly  a  Japanese  paper,  the  Karisuto  Kyo  Hoko, 
in  discussing  religion  after  the  War,  takes  the  ground 
that  there  is  no  hope  of  Buddhism  leading  new  Japan 
into  the  vital  spiritual  life  which  she  needs.  The 
editor  considers  whether  Buddhism  is  capable  of  such 
a  transformation  as  will  empower  it  for  the  new  task. 


26  WORLD  FACTS 

He  concludes  that  a  revival  of  Buddhism  ''is  hardly 
within  the  range  of  possibiUties."  To  his  mind  it  is 
not  so  much  a  question  of  disposition  as  of  the  funda- 
mental teachings  of  the  Buddhist  scriptures,  which  he 
finds  to  be  antagonistic  to  the  present  life. 

The  evidence  from  both  foreign  and  native  sources 
might  be  accumulated  indefinitely,  but  to  those  who 
know  the  heart  of  Japan  the  case  does  not  call  for 
extended  argument.  Dr.  Davis'  characterization  of 
the  religious  situation  remains  true  as  to  the  deeper 
and  more  permanent  currents  of  national  life.  Japan 
has  had  her  Renaissance  and  is  attempting  a  Reforma- 
tion. She  has  carried  her  Renaissance  to  success  be- 
cause she  committed  herself  to  a  process  involving  a 
complete  break  with  the  past.  The  day  will  come 
when  she  will  take  the  same  heroic  attitude  toward  her 
outworn  rehgious  systems.  Her  modernization  will  not 
be  complete  until  she  discovers  that  Christianity  is 
the  essential  element  in  the  new  civilization  which  she 
has  taken  over  from  the  West. 

The  Waning  of  the  Old  Faiths  in  China 

In  China  we  have  much  the  same  situation,  only  on  a 
larger  scale,  and  in  a  more  acute  stage  of  development. 
Here  it  is  a  question  not  of  50,000,000  but  of  400,000,000 
people  turning  from  the  religious  ideas  which  have 
dominated  the  national  hfe  for  thousands  of  years. 
The  Chinese  are  more  practical  than  other  Asiatics; 
less  given  to  sentiment,  more  to  the  considerations 
which  make  for  personal  advantage.  They  are  the 
pragmatists  of  the  East.  Their  veneration  for  the 
past  is  deeply  ingrained,  but  it  is  not  proof  against  the 


THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  RELIGIONS  27 

argument  of  daily  life.  The  Great  Earth-Spirit  was 
supposed  to  object  to  the  building  of  railroads;  in  fact, 
to  any  disturbance  of  the  soil  which  might  interfere 
with  his  prestige  and  comfort.  Who  can  say  how  many 
decades  of  progress  China  has  missed  because  of  this 
one  superstition?  Yet  today  railroads  are  being  built 
in  every  direction.  The  Chinese  made  short  shrift 
of  the  idea  when  once  he  suspected  that  it  stood  be- 
tween him  and  his  commercial  advantage.  From  that 
position  it  was  but  a  step  to  the  beUef  that  the  whole 
thing  was  a  silly  myth. 

One  clear  sign  of  the  religious  decadence  which  has 
set  in  is  the  ease  with  which  hundreds  of  communities 
have  seen  their  temples  converted  into  schools.  Early 
in  the  process  of  establishing  public  schools,  the  Gov- 
ernment adopted  the  policy  of  seizing  any  temple  which 
might  be  convenient  and  by  a  few  simple  improvements 
transforming  it  into  a  schoolhouse.  At  first  pains 
were  taken  not  to  offend  the  reUgious  prejudices  of  the 
local  population,  and  thus  the  idols  were  simply  re- 
moved to  one  side  of  the  room  or  placed  behind  a 
seemly  partition.  Any  oldtime  worshiper  who  wished 
to  knock  his  head  on  the  floor  in  front  of  an  image 
could  do  so  between  sessions,  or,  by  being  very  quiet 
about  it,  while  school  was  going  on.  It  was  found, 
however,  that  the  eagerness  for  modern  education  was 
such  that  no  particular  provision  need  be  made  for  the 
temple  gods.  Accordingly  the  deities  began  to  be 
treated  with  little  ceremony,  and  finally  to  be  regarded 
as  obstructions  to  the  national  movement.  The  story 
oomes  of  one  community  in  which  the  idols  were  placed 
in  a  row  along  the  wall  outside  the  temple,  where  they 


28  WORLD  FACTS 

caught  the  drippings  from  the  roof  and  rapidly  disin- 
tegrated under  the  elements.  In  another  town,  in 
their  zeal  for  education  the  people  piled  the  wooden 
images  in  the  market-place  and,  setting  fire  to  them, 
watched  their  deities  go  up  in  flames  and  smoke.  In 
an  exceedingly  radical  village  the  images  were  calmly 
dumped  in  the  river,  while  the  people  lined  the  banks 
and  cheered  as  their  gods  floated  out  to  the  sea  —  so 
glad  were  they  to  have  a  school. 

These  are  not  isolated  or  unusual  instances.  They 
are  typical  of  what  has  been  happening  in  many  parts 
of  this  ancient  land.  In  not  a  few  cages  the  local 
officials  have  taken  the  initiative  and,  seizing  some 
temple  httle  used  or  falhng  into  disrepair,  have  offered 
it  to  a  mission  board  for  educational  purposes,  with  full 
freedom  as  to  teaching  the  Bible  and  Christian  truths. 
A  village  in  Shantung  not  only  passed  over  to  the 
Anterican  Board  its  finest  temple,  but  also  the  temple 
endowments  for  the  maintenance  of  the  school,  these 
being  the  rentals  of  certain  shops  in  the  bazaar.  In  a 
village  in  the  Fukien  province  the  Buddhist  priests 
joined  in  urging  the  missionaries  to  send  them  a  teacher 
and  to  make  free  use  of  their  temple.  When  the 
school  was  organized  several  of  the  priests  joined  the 
classes.  The  significance  of  this  disregard  of  their 
sanctuaries  cannot  be  mistaken. 

Of  late  certain  plays  have  been  popular  in  the 
Chinese  theaters  which  make  a  point  of  ridiculing  the 
worship  of  idols,  quite  in  the  spirit  of  the  forty-fourth 
chapter  of  Isaiah  and  the  one  hundred  and  fifteenth 
Psalm.  These  plays  are  not  the  result  of  any  mission- 
ary propaganda  or  suggestion,  but  are  the  spontaneous 


THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  RELIGIONS  29 

expression  of  the  prevailing  thought  of  the  hour.  The 
Chinese,  among  other  excellent  things,  is  a  humorist, 
and  he  even  manages  to  enjoy  the  fun  which  the  actors 
make  at  the  expense  of  the  venerable  gods. 

Of  more  value,  however,  is  the  evidence  arising  from 
the  attempt  of  the  recent  ParUament  to  adopt  Con- 
fucianism as  a  national  rehgion.  The  movement  look- 
ing to  an  official  recognition  of  China's  most  character- 
istic faith  —  if  indeed  we  can  call  Confucianism  a 
faith  —  was  backed  in  exceedingly  influential  quarters 
and  was  engineered  with  great  skill.  The  combination 
against  the  project,  however,  in  which  native  Chris- 
tians took  the  leading  part,  was  too  strong.  China's 
Christian  leaders  united  with  the  others  m  honoring 
the  teachings  of  Confucius  as  of  great  ethical  value. 
They  advocated  the  use  of  them  in  both  public  and 
mission  schools  as  a  textbook  of  ethics  and  of  pure 
classical  forms,  but  in  the  matter  of  opposing  the 
estabhshment  of  Confucianism  as  the  official  religion 
they  were  supported  by  the  best  public  sentiment  and 
so  won  the  day. 

The  surest  evidence  of  all  arises  from  the  feeling  on 
the  part  of  an  increasing  number  of  patriotic  leaders 
that  China's  supreme  need  is  a  better  religion.  The 
old  faiths  had  their  chance  and  they  failed  China  in  her 
hour  of  need.  Men  of  this  class  talk  freely  with  mis- 
sionaries and  educators,  confessing  their  disappoint- 
ment not  only  with  their  religious  institutions  but 
with  the  whole  scheme  of  educational  and  economic 
improvement,  through  which  they  hoped  to  achieve 
the  prestige  and  might  of  the  West.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  modern  movement,  before  the  Manchus  were 


30  WORLD   FACTS 

expelled,  China's  greatest  viceroy,  Chang  Chih-Tung, 
wrote  his  famous  book,  ''China's  Only  Hope,"  which 
was  said  to  reach  a  circulation  of  over  a  milhon.  This 
work,  beyond  any  other  influence,  was  instrumental  in 
bringing  about  the  reforms  which  followed  the  Boxer 
fiasco.  It  was  a  well-reasoned  and  impassioned  appeal 
for  a  new  system  of  education  based  upon  Western 
science,  but  not  excluding  the  Chinese  classics.  Thanks 
to  Chang  Chih-Tung  and  other  enhghtened  leaders, 
Ohina  now  has  her  modern  schools,  yet  the  country 
remains  as  helpless  as  she  was  in  1900.  Lacking;  in 
inteUigent  patriotism,  the  prey  to  selfish  ambition  and 
official  greed,  the  republic  floats  like  a  rudderless  hulk 
on  the  political  seas.  No  wonder  there  are  an  increas- 
ing number  who  think  that  China's  "  Only  Hope  "  hes 
beyond  instruction  in  science  and  economics.  A  prom- 
inent official,  in  talking  with  a  visitor  from  the  West, 
recently  summed  it  all  up  by  remarking,  ''We  must  go 
deeper  to  find  the  secret  of  Christian  civihzation;  it  is 
clear  that  we  must  study  your  sacred  books  as  well  as 
your  democratic  institutions  and  your  systems  of  trade 
and  education." 

Signs  of  Decadence  in  India 

The  signs  of  religious  decline  in  India  are  not  so 
apparent  as  in  the  lands  which  have  been  named. 
They  lie  less  upon  the  surface ;  they  relate  more  to  the 
atmosphere  of  society  than  to  changing  customs  and 
institutions.  Observant  travelers  speak  of  the  fact 
that  Christian  ideals  have  penetrated  far  deeper  into 
the  Hindu  consciousness  than  has  been  supposed.  On 
every  side  one  detects  the  lessening  hold  of  Hinduism 


THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  RELIGIONS  31 

as  a  system  of  thought,  and  the  unconscious  absorption 
of  the  Christian  point  of  view. 

Yet  we  are  not  without  definite  signs  of  decay.  Prof. 
James  Bissell  Pratt,  of  Wilhams  College,  in  his  delight- 
ful book,  '^  India  and  her  Faiths,"  tells  of  an  enthu- 
siastic Brahman  whom  he  met  on  a  train  and  who 
stopped  in  the  midst  of  an  exposition  of  the  Bhaga- 
vadgita  to  quench  his  thirst  with  a  bottle  of  soda- 
water,  which  he  had  purchased  from  a  low-caste  dealer 
in  the  station.  When  he  was  asked  how  he  reconciled 
this  with  the  strong  beUef  he  had  expressed  in  the  good 
old  customs  of  the  country,  he  rephed,  ''You  see,  there 
are  no  other  Brahmans  about." 

The  steady,  perhaps  we  should  say  the  rapid,  break- 
ing down  of  caste  impHes  the  disintegration  of  Hin- 
duism's characteristic  institution.  If  the  heartless- 
ness  of  caste  has  not  impressed  the  Brahman  mind, 
the  impracticability  of  the  system  under  the  conditions 
of  modern  life  is  too  apparent  to  be  denied.  While 
transportation  and  commerce  are  working  havoc  with 
this  obnoxious  social  system,  the  government  and 
mission  schools  are  undermining  the  very  structure  of 
Hindu  behef.  Polytheism  and  idolatry  rarely  survive 
the  sixth  grade  of  the  modern  school.  The  student 
who  pursues  scientific  and  historical  courses  in  the 
college  shakes  off  his  ancestral  faith  by  an  inevitable 
process.  The  reform  associations,  of  which  we  hear  so 
much,  and  of  which  there  are  nearly  two  score  varieties, 
must  be  regarded  as  disintegrating  forces  so  far  as  the 
Hindu  system  is  concerned.  Movements  like  the 
Brahmo-Somaj,  the  Arya-Somaj,  and  the  Friends  of 
India^  have  many  admirable  characteristics;    some  of 


32  WORLD  FACTS 

them  offer  ground  for  encouragement  as  to  improved 
social  conditions;  but  it  cannot  be  concealed  that 
their  adherents  have  broken  radically  with  the  past. 
For  this  reason  we  find  these  reforms  opposed  bitterly 
by  the  religious  leaders.  In  line  with  this  interpreta- 
tion of  the  situation  a  movement  has  been  launched 
recently  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  that  Hinduism 
should  be  considered  to  include  all  who  so  class  them- 
selves, without  regard  to  belief  or  practice  or  birth. 
This  would  be  little  less  than  bowing  themselves  off 
the  scene. 

\r  In  commenting  upon  the  recent  organization  of  a 
society  for  the  expansion  of  Hinduism,  the  Dnyanodaya, 
a  prominent  Christian  paper,  characterizes  the  reU- 
gious  situtation  in  these  words : 

'^This  movement  is  a  typical  illaistration  of  a  steady 
disintegration  of  Hinduism,  under  the  environment  of 
the  age  spirit  which  cares  little  for  any  external  author- 
ity and  which  is  permeated  with  the  spirit  of  social 
unity.  A  more  fluid,  systemless  religion,  one  less 
fitted  to  call  out  heroic  virtues  and  intense  devotion, 
could  hardly  be  conceived.  Its  essence  may  be  summed 
up  in  two  short  phrases,  'Think  and  believe  what  you 
please;  do  what  you  please.'  It  has  no  great  person  to 
be  its  hero,  its  ideal,  its  authority,  its  inspiring  leader; 
no  inspiring  book;  no  brief  creed  to  crystalhze  and 
express  its  principles;  no  ethical  standard  or  require- 
ments; no  quickening  of  conscience;  no  discipline; 
no  judgment  bar;  no  program  for  hopefulness  to  its 
followers  or  to  the  world;  no  gospel  of  love;  no  sum- 
mons to  self-sacrifice;  no  bugle  call  to  devotion;  no 
organization  to  train  and  to  inspire  its  members;  no 
promise  of  temporal  or  eternal  reward." 


THE  NON-CHRISTIAN   RELIGIONS  33 

Mohammedanism  Crumbling 

A  recent  number  of  The  Moslem  World  conveys  the 
information  that  a  modern  newspaper  is  now  pub- 
Ushed  in  Mecca  containing  the  latest  telegrams  and 
Marconigrams  on  the  news  of  the  outside  world.  This, 
in  the  city  of  the  Kaaba  and  of  the  sacred  pilgrimage, 
from  which  unbehevers  are  rigidly  excluded,  is  an 
epoch-marking  event.  Could  anything  better  illus- 
trate the  crumbHng  of  Mohammedan  exclusiveness  ? 
Christians  may  be  shut  out  from  the  sacred  city  upon 
penalty  of  death;  but  the  events  of  the  Christian  world 
pour  in  over  the  wire  and  through  the  ether.  The 
contents  of  this  Mecca  journal  are  no  less  significant 
than  the  fact  of  its  pubhcation.  Among  the  articles 
we  find  one  on  the  weakness  of  Islam  and  its  causes,  in 
which  the  writer  attributes  the  rapid  advance  of  the 
Moslem  power  in  the  early  days  to  the  reUgious  factor, 
and  asserts  that  the  desertion  by  Moslems  of  the 
fundamentals  of  their  rehgion  and  their  departure  from 
Moslem  culture  is  the  primary  cause  of  Islamic  de- 
cadence. The  paper  bitterly  attacks  the  Turkish 
regime  and  holds  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Pro- 
gress at  Constantinople  responsible  not  only  for  the 
shattering  of  the  sohdarity  of  Islam  poHtically,  but  for 
the  weakness  of  their  religion  in  the  face  of  the  encir- 
cUng  world. 

The  publication  of  utterances  Hke  these  reveals  the 
change  which  has  come  over  the  Mohammedan  world 
since  August,  1914.  Before  the  War  the  signs  of  a 
crumbhng  faith  were  restricted  to  individuals  here  and 
there  who  had  taken  courses  in  misdon  colleges,  or  who 


34  WORLD  FACTS 

in  other  ways  had  come  under  the  influence  of  Western 
culture.  Today  the  very  citadel  of  Islam  is  rocking  on 
its  foundations.  Turkey's  entry  into  the  War  is  re- 
garded by  Moslems  of  other  lands  as  of  fateful  signi- 
ficance. They  recognize  that  the  soUdarity  of  Islam 
is  now  a  thing  of  the  past.  It  was  shattered  by  what 
they  regard  as  Ottoman  treachery.  It  is  to  be  recalled 
that  Moslems  have  been  accustomed  to  regard  Turkey, 
their  one  remaining  pohtical  power,  wnose  sultan  was 
their  caliph,  as  the  guardian  and  protector  of  their 
interests  throughout  the  world.  Yet  they  beheld  this 
country,  from  purely  selfish  considerations,  betraying 
them  to  the  one  power  they  have  dreaded  above  all 
others.  In  the  protests  which  arose  Irom  the  faithful 
in  every  part  of  the  Moslem  world,  from  Morocco  to 
China,  we  recognize  the  repudiation  of  Turkey's  claim 
to  the  leadership  of  the  Mohammedan  hosts.  The 
Grand  Sharif  of  Mecca  took  immediate  advantage  of 
the  situation  to  declare  the  complete  independence  of 
Arabia  from  Ottoman  control  and  to  join  with  the 
Allies  in  the  subjugation  of  Palestine  and  Syria. 

An  incident  in  a  Turkish  city,  occurring  in  the  fall  of 
1914  and  reported  by  a  creditable  witness,  illustrates 
how  violent  was  the  reaction  of  India  Moslems  at  that 
time.  A  company  of  Moslem  merchants  from  India 
had  been  interned  as  British  subjects.  After  several 
weeks  of  restraint  they  were  offered  their  liberty  on 
condition  that  they  renounce  their  allegiance  to  Great 
Britain  and  become  citizens  of  the  Turkish  Empire. 
This  they  emphatically  refused  to  do.  Three  weeks 
later,  after  undergoing  trying  experiences  in  the  prison, 
the    offer    was    renewed    with    significant    emphasis. 


THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  RELIGIONS  35 

Thereupon  these  Indian  Moslems  replied,  "We  might 
change  our  religion,  but  we  will  never  change  our  nation- 
ality.'' 

Especially  did  the  Holy  War,  or  Jehad,  proclaimed 
by  Sultan  Mohammed  Fifth,  work  for  the  undoing  of 
Islam  and  incidentally  for  the  discomfiting  of  German 
plans.     Turkey  was  drawn  into  the  War  in  the  ex- 
pectation that  the  Jehad  would  detach  Egypt  from 
England  and  disrupt  the  Indian  Empire.     It  proved 
to   be   a   veritable   boomerang.     The   Turkish   army, 
intended  to  be  the  vanguard  in  the  war  upon  Christians 
throughout  the  world,  was  composed  not  only  of  Turks 
but  of  Armenians,  Greeks,  Jews,  and  representatives  of 
many  sects.     The  Jehad  was  aimed  at  Christian  Eng- 
land and  intended  to  benefit  Protestant  Germany  and 
Catholic  Austria.     How  were  the  Faithful  to  know 
friend  from  foe?     The  absurdity  of  the  thing  was 
recognized  from  the  first.     It  is  an  impressive  fact 
that  of  all  the  Moslem  rulers  only  Sultan  Ali,  of  Darfur 
in  the  Sudan,  followed  the  lead  of  the  cahph.     Ah's 
little  rebelHon  was  speedily  snuffed  out  by  Sir  Reginald 
Wingate's  expedition  from  Khartum. 
[    There    are    no    Moslem    states    today.     Turkey's 
political  existence  has  ended;    all  the  others  are  de- 
pendencies of  Great  Britain,  France,  or  Italy.     The 
vast  domain  of  the  cahphs,  which  in  the  time  of  Suli- 
man  the  Magnificent  exceeded  the  Roman  Empire  in 
extent,  has  reached  the  vanishing  point  in  our  day. 
And  Turkey  has  only  herself  to  blame. 

With  the  crumbling  of  political  power,  the  religious 
prestige  and  the  proud  boast  of  this  religion  are  begin- 
ning to  give  way.    The  old-time  Moslem  held  his  head 


36  WORLD  FACTS 

high.  He  was  proud  of  his  rehgion  and  satisfied  with  it ; 
he  beheved  it  to  be  the  one  true  faith,  destined  to 
conquer  the  earth.  Today  his  spirit  is  crushed  within 
him.  ''Mecca  is  gone,  Medina  is  gone,  Cairo  is  gone, 
Bagdad  is  gone,  Jerusalem  is  gone,  Damascus  is  gone, 
even  Constantinople  is  gone.  What,"  he  asks,  ''re- 
mains?" 

The  particular  effect  these  disasters  will  have  upon 
Mohammedanism  as  a  rehgious  system  may  be  a 
matter  for  debate.  Certain  fanatical  orders,  like  the 
Senussi  of  the  Sahara  Desert,  which  have  never  yielded 
full  loyalty  to  the  Turkish  regime,  may  lose  little 
of  their  intensity  and  passion.  In  recent  years  the 
Moslem  merchant-missionaries  of  the  Sudan  have  been 
active  in  winning  over  the  pagan  tribes  of  Central 
Africa.  This  burst  of  religious  zeal,  which  is  attract- 
ing the  attention  of  the  missionary  world,  arises  from  a 
complicated  situation  which  cannot  be  discussed  here; 
but  no  one  has  been  able  to  connect  it  up  with  any 
organized  propaganda  from  Moslem  centers.  It  un- 
doubtedly is  largely  commercial  in  motive.  In  any 
event,  the  movement  is  independent  of  the  forces 
which  are  shaping  Moslem  thought  and  activity  in 
other  parts  of  the  world.  Quite  likely  this  African 
propaganda  will  in  no  wise  be  affected  by  the  break- 
down of  Mohammedanism  in  the  more  settled  parts  of 
the  world. 

It  may  be  argued  by  some  that  political  disruption 
will  be  an  advantage  to  Islam,  in  that  reform  move- 
ments will  be  instituted,  a  new  passion  and  self-con- 
sciousness be  developed,  and  that  in  the  end  there  will 
be  a  recovery  if  not  an  increase  in  prestige  and  power. 


THE  NON-CHRISTIAN  RELIGIONS  37 

That  is  conceivable,  particularly  if  we  limit  our  fore- 
cast to  certain  localities  like  India  or  the  North  African 
states.  But  that  as  a  universal  system,  as  the  acknowl- 
edged rival  of  Christianity  for  the  possession  of  the 
earth,  Islam  can  survive  the  loss  of  solidarity  and 
poUtical  prestige,  would  be  a  difficult  proposition  to 
maintain. 

If  this  diagnosis  of  the  situation  appears  to  the 
reader  to  be  over  optimistic  he  will  do  well  to  ponder 
a  statement  of  the  case  from  high  Mohammedan 
authorities,  as  reported  by  Dr.  James  L.  Barton  in  his 
recent  book,  ''The  Christian  Approach  tojslam.'' 
Dr.  Barton  has  this  to  say: 

In  1899,  a  company  of  delegates  from  the  Moslem 
world  assembled  in  Mecca  and  gave  fourteen  days  to 
discussing  the  causes  for  the  decay  of  Islam.  Fifty- 
seven  reasons  were  given,  including  fatalism,  the  oppo- 
sition of  science,  the  rejection  of  religious  liberty, 
neglect  of  education,  and  inactivity  due  to  the  hope- 
lessness of  the  cause  itself.  A  leading  Moslem  editor 
in  India  wrote  in  1914:  "We  see  that  neither  wealth 
nor  education  nor  political  power  can  enable  the 
MusHms  to  achieve  their  national  salvation.  Where 
then  Ues  the  remedy  ?  Before  seeking  the  remedy  we 
must  ascertain  the  disease.  But  the  Muslims  are  not 
diseased,  they  have  reached  a  worse  stage.  A  diseased 
man  has  still  hfe  in  him."  ^ 

Mohammedanism  has  worked  out  badly  for  the 
world.  It  stands  discredited  among  the  enlightened 
people  of  the  earth.  No  tears  are  being  shed  over  its 
sorry  plight  today.  If  it  goes  the  way  of  the  other 
faiths  which  are  buttressed  by  ignorance  and  which 

^  "The  Christian  Approach  to  Islam,"  p.  182. 


38  WORLD  FACTS 

separate  morality  from  religion,  then  the  tale  of  decad- 
ent non-Christianity  will  be  complete. 

In  a  discussion  of  this  kind  it  is  incumbent  upon  us 
to  maintain  not  only  a  fair  but  a  friendly  attitude 
towards  the  adherents  of  other  religions.  The  address 
of  St.  Paul  at  Athens,  which  has  been  called  the  model 
missionary  sermon,  and  the  comment  of  St.  Peter  in  the 
house  of  CorneUus,  leave  the  Christian  in  no  doubt  as  to 
the  duty  of  a  sympathetic  approach  to  all  questions  re- 
lating to  pagan  or  non-Christian  behef .  The  question 
before  us,  however,  is  one  of  fact  and  not  of  favor.  Be 
as  sympathetic  as  we  may  in  view  of  the  commendable 
quahties  in  the  other  rehgions,  we  cannot  blink  the 
fact  of  their  proven  inadequacy  or  fail  to  rejoice  over 
any  movement  which  results  in  a  healthy  state  of  dis- 
satisfaction. 

That  the  trend  is  strongly  in  that  direction  would 
seem  to  be  established.  As  we  survey  the  facts 
throughout  the  world  we  find  that  the  religions  which 
oppose  Christianity  or  stand  in  its  way  are  disintegrat- 
ing under  our  eyes.  This  is  an  event  of  stupendous 
significance.  It  affects  two-thirds  of  the  earth's  pop- 
ulation. It  affects  this  population  in  respect  to  the 
most  fundamental  thing  in  life.  Religion,  as  the  non- 
Christian  people  have  known  it,  is  slipping  from  under 
their  feet.  There  is  possible  only  one  other  greater 
event,  the  actual  winning  of  the  non-Christian  world 
to  the  reUgion  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 

"One  far-off  divine  event 

To  which  the  whole  creation  moves." «. 

Only  it  may  not  be  as  far  off  as  some  people  suppose. 


FACT  III 
THE  RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  conditions  set  forth  under  Facts  I  and  II  would 
seem  to  provide  an  exceedingly  favorable  opportunity 
for  the  spread  of  the  Christian  reUgion,  and  this  proves 
to  be  the  case.  It  is  the  kind  of  an  opportunity  which 
comes  as  the  direct  fruitage  of  labor  rather  than  through 
a  chance  concurrence  of  events.  Commerce,  invention, 
travel,  foreign  education,  books,  the  press,  diplomacy, 
war,  and  missions  all  have  had  a  hand  in  bringing 
about  the  extraordinary  world  situation  which  con- 
fronts us  today.  But  of  missions  alone  can  we  affirm 
that  they  exist  for  the  express  purpose  of  leading  the 
people  of  the  East  into  a  higher  life,  and  that,  in 
accordance  with  such  a  purpose,  they  have  sought  to 
present  only  that  which  is  constructive  and  good  of 
Western  thought  and  achievement.  In  motive  and 
in  method  the  missionary  propaganda  has  led  all  the 
forces  of  civilization  which  make  for  a  better  world. 
The  Christian  extension  movement  has  now  reached 
the  point  where  we  may  class  it  among  the  supreme 
facts  of  history. 

World  Statistics  of  Christianity 
Statistically  stated,  Christianity  is  far  in  the  lead  of 
all  the  other  faiths.     Following  the  most  recent  author- 
ity (Atlas  Hierarchus-Streit,  1913)  the  distribution  of 
the  world's  population  rehgiously  is  as  follows: 

39 


40  WORLD  FACTS 

Population  of  the 

Globe 1,650,000,000 

Christians 635,250,000  or  38     per  cent 

Confucianists       and 

Taoists 257,400,000  or  15 . 6 

Hindus 222,750,000  or  13 . 5 

Mohammedans 221,100,000  or  13.4 

Buddhists 133,650,000  or    8. 1 

Animists 100,650,000  or    6 . 1 

Shintoistsi 52,800,000  or    3 . 2 

Jews 11,550,000  or      .7 

Unclassified 14,850,000  or      .  9 

If  figures  are  determinative,  it  will  be  seen  that 
Christianity  easily  leads  the  Ust.  But  recaUing  Emer- 
son's remark  that  the  religion  which  relies  upon  statis- 
tics is  doomed,  and  having  in  mind  that  at  best  figures 
which  deal  with  the  entire  world  are  a  studied  guess, 
considering  also  that  certain  nations  counting  them- 
selves Christian  are  so  hardly  more  than  in  name, 
we  would  not  push  tabulations  like  the  above  over 
far.  Of  more  comfort  is  it  to  find  that  in  the  matter 
of  pervasiveness  Christianity  is  in  a  class  by  itself. 
Buddhism  and  Mohammedanism  are  the  only  other 
religions  which  claim  to  be  missionary  in  character. 
Shintoism  is  a  cult  for  the  Japanese.  Confucianism 
considers  itself  a  philosophy  of  Hfe,  rather  than  a 
religion.  Hinduism  makes  religion  a  matter  of  birth 
in  Hindustan.  The  Jews  have  lost  their  ancient  vision 
of  universality.  The  animistic  faiths  are  content  if 
they   can   deal   successfully  with   the  local   demons. 

^  This  authority  classes  Japan  mainly  as  Shintoist.  Most 
authorities  consider  Japan  as  Buddhist.  The, Japanese  Govern- 
ment objects  to  any  religious  classification. 


RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       41 

Christianity,  seeking  comparison  alone  with  Buddhism 
and  Mohammedanism,  has  no  occasion  to  hang  her 
head.  Buddhism,  with  its  doctrine  of  no  God  and 
with  its  pessimistic  outlook  upon  hfe,  has  vanished 
from  India,  its  original  home,  but  pervades  Eastern 
Asia  and  Japan.  There  it  appears  to  have  come  to  a 
full  stop.  Mohammedanism,  with  its  doctrine  of  an 
exclusive  and  impossible  God,  progressed  with  aston- 
ishing rapidity  in  the  days  of  Christian  decline,  until 
it  dominated  Western  Asia  and  Northern  Africa  and 
threatened  the  civihzation  of  Europe.  Today  we  find 
it  not  only  a  receding  force,  but  increasingly  doubtful 
of  its  own  mission. 

Christianity,  whatever  weakness  it  may  reveal  in 
certain  areas  and  under  certain  forms  of  organization, 
is  demonstrated  to  be  a  world-conquering  faith.  Few 
and  remote  are  the  lands  where  its  message  has  not 
gone,  and  where  there  is  not  abundant  evidence  of  its 
power  to  transform  individual  character  and  to  build  a 
civihzation  of  enlightenment  and  power.  So  far  as 
evangelization  is  concerned,  the  work  is  now  well  ad- 
vanced toward  completion.  As  for  the  various  con- 
structive processes,  which  we  sum  up  under  the  word 
Christianization,  the  outlook  was  never  brighter  than 
today.  Christian  people,  however,  should  realize  far 
more  than  they  do,  the  speeding  up  of  the  process  dur- 
ing the  past  quarter  of  a  century.  It  is  the  rapidity  of 
the  advance  in  the  face  of  a  ready  world  that  should 
command  the  attention  of  the  Church.  No  longer  do 
we  appear  to  be  making  imperceptible  progress  against 
insuperable  odds.  Pressing  ahead  on  every  front,  the 
Christian  forces  find  themselves  in  the  full  flush  of 


42  WORLD  FACTS 

victory.  A  new  spirit  and  vision  have  come  to  the 
followers  of  Christ  in  our  day,  resulting  in  a  forward 
movement,  such  as  the  Church  has  not  seen  since 
apostolic  times.  This,  we  maintain,  is  one  of  the  out- 
standing facts  in  the  world  situation. 

The  Awakening  in  India 

...  The  sweep  of  Christianity  through  the  world  reveals 
itself  impressively  as  we  consider  the  leading  nations 
to  which  the  message  has  gone.  Let  us  begin  where 
the  modern  missionary  movement  began,  with  India, 
that  citadel  of  polytheism  and  idolatry,  where  the  gods 
outnumber  the  people,  and  where  too  often  worship  is 
the  most  degrading  exercise  in  which  a  man  can  engage. 
A  personal  experience  which  came  to  the  writer  and  a 
friend  in  1911  offers  a  convenient  point  of  departure, 
as  suggesting  a  comparison  between  what  existed  a 
little  over  one  hundred  years  ago  and  what  we  find 
today. 

In  the  winter  of  that  year  we  had  the  privilege  of 
visiting  Serampore,  on  the  lower  Ganges,  where  Wil- 
Ham  Carey  began  his  labors,  and  where  a  great  college 
stands  as  his  memorial.  Facing  the  river  and  within 
a  stone's  throw  of  the  water's  edge  is  Carey's  house. 
In  the  yard  at  the  rear  is  his  tomb.  After  visiting 
these  spots,  peculiarly  sacred  to  the  student  of  modern 
missions.  President  Hall  of  the  college  conducted  us  to 
the  river's  side  and  pointed  out  the  place  where  the 
first  convert  was  baptized.  That  was  in  1800.  He 
related  how,  throughout  the  ceremony,  Carey  listened 
to  the  moanings,  in  the  house  near  by,  of  his  wife,  who 
had  lost  her  reason  through  loneHness  in  that  far-away 


RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       43 

land,  and  how  his  ears  were  filled  with  the  ravings  of 
his  missionary  associate,  delirious  with  joy  because  they 
had  at  last  made  one  convert. 

Imagine  one's  feelings  in  such  a  place!  The  writer 
found  himself  saying,  ''What  must  be  Carey's  thoughts 
today  if  he  knows  of  the  milUons  of  souls  which  have 
been  gathered  into  the  Church  during  the  past  hun- 
dred years!"  An  aged  native  pastor,  coming  upon  the 
scene,  joined  the  group  and  said  he  clearly  remem- 
bered Carey  from  his  boyhood  days;  and,  by  way  of 
confirming  the  claim,  he  proceeded  to  narrate  a  char- 
acteristic incident  in  the  life  of  the  great  missionary 
pioneer.  One  life  spanning  the  period  between  the 
man  whom  Sydney  Smith  in  the  Edinburgh  Review 
ridiculed  as  the  ''Consecrated  Cobbler"  and  the  great 
achievements  of  our  day! 

^  In  the  year  of  our  visit  the  British  Government  was 
taking  the  census  which  astonished  the  world  by  its 
revelation  of  Christian  progress  in  the  Punjab  and 
United  Provinces.  The  census  revealed  that  in  the 
areas  where  the  mass  movements  had  appeared  the 
gain  for  the  decade  had  been  over  400  per  cent.  The 
result  was  a  surprise  even  to  the  missionaries.  Few  of 
them  had  reahzed  the  latent  discontent  with  Hinduism 
and  the  widespread  desire  for  the  better  things  which 
Christianity  had  to  offer.  A  certain  missionary  of  the 
Methodist  Board  was  asked  by  an  oflftcial  to  estimate 
the  number  of  Christians  in  his  district  which  the 
census  would  reveal.  When  he  suggested  10,000  the 
official  scouted  the  idea  as  preposterous.  The  tabu- 
lated returns  revealed  18,000  Christians  in  that  dis- 
trict alone. 


44  WORLD  FACTS 

The"  year  1911,  however,  seems  a  long  way  back 
when  we  consider  the  progress  of  Christianity  in 
North  India.  Today  it  is  estimated  that  the  mass 
movement  has  doubled  in  volume  since  the  census, 
and  that  during  the  five  years  succeeding  it  10,000 
persons  monthly  have  been  baptized  by  Protestant 
missionaries  generally  throughout  the  land.  Atten- 
tion has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  the  Methodist 
Mission  has  been  obhged  to  refuse  160,000  persons 
who  were  asking  for  Christian  instruction  owing  to  the 
lack  of  teachers,  and  that  they  have  60,000  boys  and 
girls  for  whom  there  is  no  prospect  of  schooling.  This 
denomination,  for  a  time  fairly  bewildered  by  such 
success,  today  is  organizing  a  movement  for  enrolling 
1000  converts  a  week  in  its  North  India  missions, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  seeks  a  large  sum  of  money 
for  the  financing  of  the  educational  and  evangelistic 
agencies  which  are  involved. 

Bishop  Warne  has  been  thrilHng  American  audiences 
by  describing  the  training  conferences  for  Indian 
Chaudries,  or  village  headmen,  who  are  brought  to- 
gether for  the  purpose  of  learning  how  they  may  in- 
struct their  people  in  Christian  truth  and  lead  them 
into  the  Church.  At  one  of  these  conferences,  he 
states  over  two  hundred  Chaudries  were  in  attendance. 
The  method  adopted  was  to  teach  orally  the  stories  of 
the  New  Testament  and  then  have  the  Chaudries 
rehearse  these  before  the  others.  The  Oriental  touch 
which  they  were  able  to  give  to  the  familiar  incidents 
in  the  life  of  Christ  filled  the  missionaries  with  dehght. 
By  several  of  these  unlettered  men  the  story  of  the 
crucifixion   was   told   with   such  vividness  that   the 


RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       45 

audience  would  sway  and  moan  and  cry  out,  ''It  was 
because  of  our  sin." 

This  Indian  movement,  we  are  assured,  is  not  a  mere 
tidal  wave  of  emotionalism,  nor  is  it  based  upon  a 
seeking  of  Christian  fellowship  for  the  sake  of  the 
practical  benefits  to  be  obtained.  It  has  its  dangers 
in  those  directions,  as  missionary  leaders  are  well 
aware,  and  safeguards  in  the  way  of  Bible  training 
and  probationary  periods  are  scrupulously  enforced. 
Repeated  investigations  confirm  the  depth  and  gen- 
uineness of  this  awakening.  The  new  converts  persist, 
in  spite  of  the  scorn  and  frequent  persecution  arising 
from  their  heathen  neighbors.  They  make  sacrifices 
of  money  and  time,  which  would  put  to  shame  many 
a  church  in  the  West.  They  stand  up  well  under  all 
the  tests  of  sincerity  and  endurance. 

When  we  come  to  other  parts  of  India,  such  as 
Bengal,  the  Marathi  country  in  the  west,  and  the  great 
southern  section,  we  find  that  the  progress  is  not  as 
rapid  as  in  the  north.  Yet  the  movement  is  sufficiently 
strong  to  create  a  special  problem  of  success.  The 
person  who  imagines  that  the  efforts  of  the  Indian 
missionaries  are  put  forth  in  the  hope  that  occasionally 
they  may  make  one  or  two  converts,  snatching  them 
Hke  brands  from  the  burning,  is  sadly  behind  the 
times.  He  is  thinking  in  terms  of  one  hundred  years 
ago.  The  problem  of  the  missionary  today  is  not  so 
much  how  he  may  make  converts  as  how  he  may  care 
for  the  mass  of  converts  when  they  are  made.  It  is 
the  problem  of  training  rather  than  of  persuasion. 

Signs  are  increasing  which  indicate  incipient  mass 
movements  in  Western  India  and  also  in  the  Tamil 


46  WORLD  FACTS 

country  in  the  south.  In  these  sections,  where  hither- 
to the  resistance  has  been  pecuharly  strong,  large  social 
groups  and  even  entire  villages  are  asking  to  have 
Christian  teachers  located  in  their  midst;  occasionally 
villages  come  over  bodily  into  the  Christian  camp. 
It  will  not  be  surprising  if  within  a  few  years  the  move- 
ment in  the  Punjab  spreads  in  every  direction.  The 
census  of  1911  recorded  a  gain  for  Christianity  of 
thirty-one  per  cent  for  the  decade  throughout  the 
Indian  Empire,  which  meant  the  adding  of  a  round 
milKon  to  the  Church.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  in  the 
same  period  the  population  increased  only  six  per  cent 
this  is  a  favorable  showing.  The  point  is,  however, 
that  in  practically  every  section  the  rate  of  increase  is 
rising  so  rapidly  that  the  1911  figures  cease  to  be  signifi- 
cant. Today  the  Christian  population  is  estimated  by 
some  as  4,000,000,  and  by  others  as  5,000,000. 

It  was  Bishop  Whitehead  of  Madras  who,  in  the 
interest  of  the  Anglican  Church,  made  a  tour  in  the 
north  in  order  to  investigate  the  remarkable  reports 
which  were  being  sent  out  by  the  American  Methodists 
and  Presbyterians,  and  who,  becoming  satisfied  as  to 
their  genuineness  and  significance,  started  for  England 
in  order  to  stir  up  the  church  of  his  own  connection. 
In  the  year  before  the  War  he  traveled  through  Great 
Britain  giving  addresses  in  the  cathedrals  and  leading 
churches,  and  the  burden  of  his  message  was:  "The 
supreme  duty  of  the  hour  for  the  Church  of  England  is 
to  prepare  for  the  landsHde  which  is  upon  us  in  India.'' 
He  maintained  that  50,000,000  outcastes  are  knocking 
at  the  door  of  the  Christian  Church.  Undoubtedly 
the  Bishop  would  attempt  to  state  the  case  even  more 


RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       47 

strongly  today,  in  view  of  favorable  conditions  arising 
from  the  War,  since  not  only  for  the  outcastes  but  for 
the  middle  class  population  a  work  of  vast  proportions 
impends. 

Marks  of  Progress  in  China 

Tv^dce  within  three  years  the  Protestant  Mission 
Boards,  operating  in  China,  have  joined  forces  through 
their  ''Continuation  Committee"  for  evangeUstic  cam- 
paigns in  the  great  cities.  Each  time  the  chosen  leader 
was  Dr.  George  Sherwood  Eddy,  the  General  Secretary 
for  Asia  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
The  effort  in  the  first  instance  was  directed  to  the 
official  class,  and  to  the  literati  and  gentry  of  the  cities. 
As  a  result  of  meetings  held  in  Peking,  Foochow, 
Canton,  and  ten  other  centers,  for  which  the  friendly 
Government  afforded  special  opportunities  —  even  go- 
ing so  far  as  to  erect  a  temporary  convention  hall  in 
Peldng  —  a  large  number  of  educated  men,  approxi- 
mately 18,000,  signed  cards  enrolhng  themselves  in 
classes  for  the  study  of  the  Christian  truth.  Many  of 
the  governing  class  accepted  Christianity  on  the  spot, 
but  more  were  content  to  study  the  ''sacred  books" 
of  our  religion  before  taking  a  definite  stand. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  how  Hke  and  yet  unhke  that  in 
India  is  the  situation  in  the  Chinese  RepubUc.  We 
find  a  similar  widespread  dissatisfaction  with  the  past 
and  a  hke  eager  looking  to  the  faith  of  the  West  for 
relief;  but  while  in  India  the  awakening  is  among  the 
pariahs,  the  lowhest  of  the  low,  in  China  it  is  the  men 
of  education  and  social  position  who  are  seeking  the 
truth. 


48  WORLD  FACTS 

We  read  of  one  missionary  who  spends  his  entire 
time  Saturdays  and  Sundays  in  conducting  Bible 
classes  for  the  literati,  there  being  thirteen  of  these 
groups  which  come  to  him  for  instruction.  Another 
missionary  has  captured  the  government  normal  school 
of  his  district,  the  students  attending  his  class  in  a 
body.  An  American  worker  in  Paotingfu,  the  West 
Point  of  Cliina,  on  Sundays  leads  two  hundred  future 
army  officers  in  the  study  of  the  Scripture.  He  reports 
2,500  persons  in  the  vicinity  seeking  admission  to  the 
Church. 

The  second  campaign,  which  was  conducted  in  the 
winter  of  1918,  was  directed  to  bringing  the  members  of 
these  Bible  classes  to  a  definite  decision  for  Christ. 
The  result  has  been  highly  gratifying,  the  more  so  as 
hundreds  of  officials  have  become  interested  in  the 
idea  that  Christianity  might  become  the  solution  of 
China's  vexed  political  and  economic  problem.  At 
Canton  seventy  government  officials,  editors,  and 
educators,  met  Dr.  Eddy  to  discuss  the  national  situ- 
ation in  the  light  of  Christian  truth  and  history.  Sun 
Yat  Sen,  the  liberator  of  China  from  the  Manchu 
dynasty,  and  the  first  provisional  president  of  the 
Repubhc,  was  present  and  brought  one  hundred  of  his 
officers  to  hear  Dr.  Eddy  discuss  Christianity  and 
China's  needs.  Several  of  the  officials,  including  a 
member  of  ParUament,  then  and  there  made  a  confes- 
sion of  Christ.  Twelve  hundred  Chinese  Christians  in 
Canton  held  a  daily  meeting  for  prayer  and  training  in 
personal  work  while  the  campaign  was  in  progress. 
Incidentally  the  native  church  was  infused  with  a  new 
spirit  of  evangehsm.     Everywhere  the  emphasis  was 


RAPID   EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       49 

placed  upon  the  need  of  a  witnessing  church,  on  the 
theory  that  China  must  be  won  to  Christ  by  the 
Chinese. 

One  who  was  present  at  the  closing  session  in  Canton 
reports  the  scene  as  follows:  "The  Chinese  pastors  of 
the  twenty-eight  local  churches  were  seated  on  the 
platform.  As  the  name  of  each  church  was  called, 
the  pastor  rose,  then  his  workers  in  the  audience,  then 
the  new  converts  who  had  been  won  by  them  or  who 
had  made  the  decision  for  Christ  during  the  week. 
What  an  inspiring  sight  it  was  to  see  each  pastor  lead 
out  his  little  flock  of  twenty,  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  to 
begin  their  weekly  Bible  class  and  to  extend  the  work 
of  winning  the  millions  of  China  one  by  one." 

For  a  contrast  go  back  to  the  days  of  Robert  Mor- 
rison the  first  Protestant  missionary  to  China,  who 
landed  in  Canton  in  1807.  For  thirty-four  years 
Morrison  hved  and  preached,  using  Canton  and  Macao 
as  a  base,  insulted  in  public,  beaten  by  his  own  ser- 
vants, often  in  danger  of  his  life.  After  seven  years  he 
was  able  to  claim  one  convert,  a  native  by  the  name  of 
Toai-A-Ko.  After  twenty-eight  years  more,  as  the 
result  of  the  arduous  labors  of  himself  and  colleagues, 
he  was  able  to  point  to  five  additional  converts.  Six 
church  members  for  thirty-four  years  of  work!  And 
today  we  see  the  government  officials  welcoming  the 
missionary  leaders  and  sitting  at  their  feet  to  learn  the 
''Jesus  Way."  We  see  a  Chinese  Church  spreading 
rapidly  throughout  the  eighteen  provinces,  and  mul- 
titudes of  outsiders  looking  to  that  Church  as  the  best 
hope  of  their  country.  We  see  the  missionaries,  for- 
merly known  as  ''foreign  devils/'  addressing  patriotic 


50  WORLD  FACTS 

gatherings  in  the  market-place,  and  the  churches  be- 
coming schools  of  national  reform. 

At  the  centenary  celebration  of  Morrison's  arrival, 
which  was  held  at  Shanghai  in  1907,  the  results  of  the 
century's  progress  were  tabulated  both  as  to  church 
members  and  the  Protestant  missionary  force.  The 
showing  was  as  follows: 

Increase  in  Church  Members 

1843 6 

1853 350 

1860 960 

1876 1,300 

1889 37,000 

1900 113,000 

1906 178,200 

In  the  year  1900  not  less  than  16,000  native  Chris- 
tians suffered  martyrdom  as  a  result  of  the  Boxer 
uprising.  This  loss  was  made  up  during  the  next  six 
years  and  65,200  additional  converts  secured.  The 
Protestant  church  membership  in  1918  is  estimated  as 
300,000,  the  Protestant  community  is  figured  at  700,000. 
Christians  are  found  located  in  7,000  different  places 
throughout  the  Republic. 

As  to  the  growth  in  the  missionary  forces,  the  record 
runs  as  follows : 

Increase  in  Missionaries 

1842 20 

1860 120 

1876 473 

1890 1,296 

1900 2,785 

1901 3,833 

1917 5,744 


RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       51 

Professor  Ross,  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin, 
whose  book,  "The  Changing  Chinese,"  many  have 
read  with  dehght,  pays  a  striking  tribute  to  the  success 
of  the  missionary  propaganda  when  he  says:  ''The 
most  penetrating  Western  things  in  China  are  the 
Gospel,  kerosene,  and  cigarettes,  and  I  am  glad  that 
as  between  hght,  heat,  and  smoke  the  prophet  of  light 
gets  into  the  country  first."  One  of  these  ''prophets  of 
light"  has  recently  given  it  as  his  conviction  that  we 
are  on  the  eve  of  a  genuine  mass  movement  towards 
Christianity  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  educated  classes, 
and  he  appeals  to  the  American  Church  to  rise  to  the 
realization  of  what  is  offered  her  in  the  Far  East. 
"China,"  he  says,  "can  be  had  for  the  asking." 

World-Wide  Success 

It  should  not  be  necessary  to  accumulate  evidence 
from  every  land  into  which  the  modern  missionary  has 
penetrated.  But  lest  it  be  suspected  that  only  the 
high  points  of  success  have  been  selected,  it  may  be 
added  that  the  favorable  conditions  which  exist  in 
India  and  China  are  paralleled  with  more  or  less  dis- 
tinctness in  other  sections  of  the  globe.  Ten  years 
ago  we  heard  much  of  the  rapid  progress  of  Christian- 
ity in  Chosen  (Korea).  We  were  told  that  the  Chosen 
Church  laid  it  down  as  a  rule  for  admission  that  an 
appHcant  should  have  won  at  least  one  person  to  Christ, 
and  how,  as  a  result  of  the  great  evangeUstic  wave 
which  was  engendered,  pentecostal  movements  were 
the  order  of  the  day.  Descriptions  came  in  those  days 
of  prayer  meetings  which  statedly  numbered  from 
1,500  to  2,000  persons.      Of  late,  owing  to  poUtical 


52  WORLD  FACTS 

changes  and  disturbances,  we  are  hearing  less  from 
that  quarter  of  the  world ;  but  the  good  work  still  goes 
on.  Bishop  Welch  estimates  that  throughout  the 
peninsula  there  has  been  an  average  of  one  convert  an 
hour,  day  and  night,  since  the  missionaries  began  work. 
In  a  recent  article  in  the  Review  of  Reviews  by  Mr. 
Willard  Price,  the  statement  is  made  that  there  are 
3,000  new  converts  every  week. 

In  Japan,  the  rapid  increase  in  the  population  makes 
the  rate  of  Christian  progress  appear  small,  but  the 
three-years'  evangehstic  campaign  recently  finished 
yielded  large  returns  and  put  a  new  spirit  of  hope  and 
courage  into  the  forces  of  Christianity.  Christian 
leaders  connected  with  the  Church  and  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  are  making  themselves 
felt  increasingly  in  pubhc  life  and  in  philanthropic  and 
educational  reform. 

Nor  need  we  hmit  our  survey  to  the  Farther  East. 
Africa  ''is  coming  strong"  in  these  days,  with  Uganda 
emerging  as  a  Christian  nation  in  the  heart  of  the  con- 
tinent, where  the  forces  of  Islam  are  plainly  routed  and 
the  church  population  now  outnumbers  the  pagans. 
Kamerun,  where  the  American  Presbyterians  are  con- 
ducting a  superb  work,  bids  fair  to  become  a  second 
Uganda.  In  the  Bulu  country  we  read  of  single  com- 
munion services  attended  by  8,000  native  Christians. 
Africa,  too,  has  her  mass  movements,  since  on  the 
Congo  whole  villages  and  tribes  are  seeking  Christian 
instruction. 

The  story  of  Christian  progress  in  the  Philippines 
makes  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church.     Since  the  American  occupation 


RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       53 

began  in  1898  the  missionary  societies  from  the  United 
States  have  enrolled  over  50,000  members,  and  the 
prospects  were  never  brighter  than  today. 

Causes  of  the  Christian  Advance 

The  significance  of  the  rapid  extension  of  Christian- 
ity in  our  times  is  enhanced  when  we  consider  the 
leading  causes  which  have  been  operative,  and  which, 
humanly  speaking,  account  for  the  splendid  result. 
These  may  be  summed  up  under  nine  heads. 

1.  Beginning  with  that  which  is  deepest,  we  name 
the  heart  hunger  of  the  nations.  Above  all  things  the 
Oriental  is  rehgious.  ReUgion  is  the  very  substance  of 
his  Life,  and  when  the  system  upon  which  he  has 
depended  shps  from  under  his  feet  he  turns  naturally 
toward  the  best  substitute  at  hand.  A  Chinese  in 
America,  upon  hearing  an  address  which  referred  to 
the  deserted  temples  of  his  country,  remarked,  ''Yes, 
that  is  true,  and  more  than  that  the  heart  of  the 
Chinese  is  an  empty  shrine."  Ambassador  Reinsch 
states  that  the  most  fundamental  thing  he  has  found 
in  the  East  is  the  longing  of  the  people  for  a  personal, 
friendly,  eternal,  and  universal  Power. 

2.  A  close  second  to  the  above  is  the  proved  value"of 
Christianity  in  the  matter  of  virtuous  character.  ''By 
their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them"  is  a  compelling  argu- 
ment in  every  part  of  the  world.  A  recent  pubUcation 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  presidents  and  teachers 
of  government  schools  in  the  East  have  been  reiterating 
the  testimony  of  former  years  to  the  effect  that  the 
old  religions  do  not  sustain  the  character  of  their 
students,  that  the  new  patriotism  does  not  do  it,  "for 


54  WORLD  FACTS 

it  flares  and  wanes  and  selfish  interests  ever  recur." 
''What  is  needed,"  they  say,  '4s  a  force  to  stay  the 
characters  of  men  in  a  changing  civihzation,  and  to 
center  their  unselfish  thought  on  their  country's 
need." 

3.  A  kindred  consideration,  which  bulks  large  in  the 
non-Christian  mind,  is  the  full-orbed  manhood  which 
is  the  product  of  the  Christian  hfe.  Avoiding  indul- 
gence in  selfish  and  fleshly  pleasure  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  dwarfing  effect  of  asceticism  on  the  other, 
the  missionaries  and  their  converts  present  to  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  live  the  example  of  normal, 
joyous  Hving.  Chang  Poling,  the  well-known  educator 
of  Tientsin,  who  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  Chinese 
Christian  leaders,  attributes  his  attraction  to  Chris- 
tianity to  the  meeting  of  a  group  of  missionaries  on 
their  way  to  the  tennis  field.  It  happened  that  at 
that  time  his  heart  was  full  of  pessimism  and  gloom, 
in  view  of  the  apparent  hopelessness  of  the  Chinese 
political  situation.  On  account  of  what  appeared  to 
him  to  be  an  impossible  outlook,  he  was  considering 
the  organization  of  a  society  which  should  have  as  its 
aim  the  gradual  elimination  of  the  population  through 
voluntary  celibacy.  Being  in  this  state,  he  could  not 
but  contrast  his  frame  of  mind  with  that  of  the  mis- 
sionary group.  "See  those  Christians,"  he  said  to 
himself.  "They  are  full  of  laughter  and  joy;  they 
exchange  jokes;  they  are  on  their  way  to  play  tennis. 
Where  do  they  get  this  spirit  of  joy?  Perhaps  there 
is  something  in  their  fives  which  I  do  not  possess.  I 
must  look  into  this  rehgion  of  theirs."  And  so  he 
sought  an   interview,   and,  as  a  result,  became  not 


RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       55 

only  a  radiant  and  enthusiastic  Christian,  but  a  pas- 
sionate advocate  of  Christianity  as  the  hope  of  his 
country. 

4.  A  cause  which  carries  weight  with  many  is  the 
acknowledged  prestige  and  power  of  the  nations  of  the 
West.  BeauHeu  maintains  that  Japan  fifty  years  ago 
passed  by  Christianity  in  her  adoption  of  Western 
culture  because  of  her  impression  that  religion  had 
ceased  to  be  a  determining  factor  in  the  life  of  the 
Western  world.  There  are  many  in  Japan  and  other 
parts  of  Asia  today  who  are  too  intelligent  to  class 
religion  among  the  spent  forces  of  the  world.  These 
thinkers  recognize  that  the  progressive  nations  are 
Christian  in  profession  and  ideal.  Desiring  to  be 
found  in  this  class,  it  is  not  surprising  that  they  feel 
kindly  disposed  toward  the  reUgion  of  the  West. 

5.  The  value  of  missionary  work  as  a  means  of 
social  improvement  has  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
the  East.  Where  the  chapel  and  the  preaching  service 
have  gained  small  attention,  the  school,  the  hospital, 
the  industrial  institution,  and  the  printing  press  have 
ehcited  the  plaudits  of  the  leaders  who  wish  their 
people  to  rise  in  the  scale  of  civiUzation  and  morals. 
Says  Tyler  Dennett  in  his  recent  book,  ''The  Demo- 
cratic Movement  in  Asia, "  ''  Never  shall  I  forget  a  frank 
conversation  which  I  had  in  his  palace  with  His  High- 
ness, the  Gaekwar  of  Baroda.  He  told  me  of  some  of 
the  measures  which  he  has  already  introduced  for  the 
betterment  of  his  subjects,  and  of  the  difficulties  which 
he  had  encountered.  His  admiration  for  things  Amer- 
ican is  so  unqualified  as  to  be  almost  naive,  but  I 
think  I  was  most  of  all  impressed  when  he  said,  'I 


56  WORLD  FACTS 

am  thinking  of  calling  together  the  missionaries  and 
asking  them  to  tell  me  their  views  on  how  we  can  im- 
prove the  quaUty  of  the  native  priesthood.  Then  I 
want  to  call  the  priests  together  and  say  to  them, 
'Look  at  the  missionaries.  See  the  sacrifices  they  are 
making  to  help  our  people.  You  ought  to  go  out  and 
do  the  same  kind  of  work.' " 

f  6.  Kindred  to  the  last  consideration  is  the  higher 
social  standing  which  communities  acquire  as  a  result 
of  their  Christian  connection.  When  the  Gospel  finds 
a  lodgment  in  a  humble  village  of  India  or  Africa  the 
inhabitants  begin  to  hold  up  their  heads;  they  assume 
an  attitude  of  self-respect  and  thus  proclaim  them- 
selves as  members  of  a  higher  civilization.  When 
schools  are  organized  and  the  young  people  learn  to 
read  and  write  and  books  begin  to  circulate,  the  im- 
pression made  upon  heathen  neighbors  is  unmistakable. 
Persecution  may  set  in  for  a  season,  but  eventually 
admiration  takes  its  place.  This  is  particularly  true 
of  India,  where  the  social  standing  of  the  Christian 
villages  is  increasing  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  where 
the  heathen  communities  are  beginning  to  inquire 
about  the  power  which  can  produce  such  an  astonish- 
ing change.  i'  i  -':f] 
7.  A  potent  reason  is  the  increasing  realization  by 
Orientals  that  Christianity  is  not  to  be  considered  as 
an  exotic,  an  importation  from  the  antagonistic  West; 
but  that,  originating  in  the  East,  it  has  become  the 
common  possession  of  the  race.  The  idea  that  a 
man  who  accepts  Christianity  thereby  denationalizes 
himself  is  rapidly  disappearing.  The  ideal  of  the 
progressive  missionary  is   happily    expressed   by  the 


RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       57 

phrase  coined  by  Professor  Edward  C.  Moore  of  Har- 
vard, ''The  NaturaUzation  of  Christianity  in  the  Far 
East." 

8.  A  cause  of  success  which  has  proved  to  be  of 
incalculable  advantage,  but  which  is  little  appreciated 
among  the  home  churches,  is  the  development  of  a 
science  of  missions.  For  over  one  hundred  years 
scholarly  men  and  women  of  high  purpose,  the  product 
of  our  best  educational  institutions,  have  been  study- 
ing the  principles  underlying  successful  propaganda 
and  trying  out  the  methods  best  adapted  to  forwarding 
the  Christian  movement  among  non-Christian  people. 
When  we  recall  the  men  who  have  made  large  contri- 
butions to  missionary  theory  and  practice,  such  as 
Carey,  Judson,  Duff  in  India;  Morrison,  Wilhams, 
Martin  in  China;  Verbeck,  Hepburn,  Davis  in  Japan; 
Riggs,  Hamlin,  Bhss  in  Turkey;  Moffat,  Livingstone, 
Mackay,  Stewart  in  Africa;  Patteson,  Chalmers, 
Paton,  and  Bingham  in  Australasia,  it  s  to  build  a  hst 
of  giant  personahties.  These  men  were  as  able  and 
devoted  Christians  as  the  Church  of  Europe  and 
America  has  produced.  It  would  have  been  surpris- 
ing indeed  if  from  the  investigations  and  labors  of  men 
Hke  these  a  method  of  procedure,  based  upon  sound 
principles,  had  not  arisen  worthy  of  the  name  of 
science. 

9.  As  the  concluding  cause  of  progress  we  mention 
''The  World  Missionary  Conference"  held  at  Edin- 
burgh in  1910.  It  has  become  apparent  that  this 
convocation  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Boards  of  the 
Protestant  churches  of  Christendom  marked  the  be- 
ginning of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  Church. 
Edinburgh  stands  for  Protestantism  presenting  a  soUd 


58  WORLD  FACTS 

front  to  the  non-Christian  world.  The  figure  is  a 
mihtary  one,  but  should  not  be  taken  in  that  sense. 
The  soUd  front  is  one  of  sympathy  and  friendship. 
The  Conference  came  to  a  profound  and  solemn  con- 
viction that  it  would  be  folly  to  attempt  to  win  the 
non-Christian  world  by  means  of  a  divided  Church. 
The  task  appeared  so  vast  and  intricate  that  by  com- 
mon consent  no  one  denomination  could  achieve  it 
alone,  nor  could  all  the  denominations  bring  it  to  pass 
working  separately.  The  demand  for  a  delimitation 
of  territory  between  the  Boards;  for  spheres  of  exclusive 
responsibiUty;  for  agreement  upon  the  fundamentals 
of  procedure;  for  an  efficient  measure  of  consoUdation 
in  higher  educational  institutions  and  literature;  for 
mutual  respect  and  support  in  matters  of  church  dis- 
cipline; for  steadily  increasing  responsibility  on  the 
part  of  the  native  church;  and  in  general  for  every- 
thing which  might  lead  towards  a  combination  of  pur- 
pose and  effort,  characterized  the  sessions  in  an  un- 
mistakable way.  We  sing  today  with  sincerity  and 
conviction,  ''Like  a  mighty  army  moves  the  Church 
of  God." 

Dominance  of  the  Protestant  Type  of 
Christianity 

''In  reviewing  the  causes  for  the  rapid  extension  of 
Christianity  in  foreign  lands,  we  cannot  avoid  the 
conclusion  that  the  modern  spirit  has  had  much  to  do 
with  the  process.  An  open  mind  toward  truth  from 
every  quarter,  the  desire  for  the  widest  possible  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge,  the  development  of  toleration,  the 
democratic  ideal,  and  the  increasing  freedom  from 
ecclesiasticism  —  these  have  been  the  handmaids  of 


RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       59 

the  Christian  propaganda  during  the  past  twenty-five 
years.  On  this  account  it  has  been  impossible  for  the 
Roman  CathoUc  Church  to  participate  in  the  advance 
to  the  extent  to  which  their  closely-knit  organization 
might  seem  to  entitle  them.  Possibly  in  no  period 
has  the  reactionary  attitude  of  the  Roman  author- 
ities proved  a  greater  handicap.  In  a  world  swept  by 
the  scientific  spirit,  where  the  emphasis  is  upon,  the 
things  which  are  vital  to  character,  rather  than  upon 
the  externals  of  worship  and  ecclesiastical  form,  the 
medievalism  of  Rome  has  proved  a  serious  barrier 
between  them  and  the  more  enhghtened  of  the  non- 
Christian  people. 

This  is  not  to  overlook  or  belittle  the  real  and  often 
large  gains  for  the  Kingdom  arising  from  the  efforts  of 
the  Roman  propaganda.  Orders  hke  the  Jesuits,  the 
Franciscans,  and  the  White  Fathers  have  a  history  of 
worthy  advancement  in  many  parts  of  the  world. 
Their  charitable  institutions  dot  the  globe  and  there  is 
no  gainsaying  the  personal  devotion  and  self-sacrifice 
of  the  men  and  women  they  have  sent  out.  The 
record  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  among  the  Indians  of 
North  America  we  count  among  the  most  inspiring 
and  precious  possessions  of  the  Church  Universal.  All 
this  is  true,  and  every  Protestant  should  be  grateful 
for  it.  More  than  that  we  must  recognize  that  when 
the  churches  of  the  Reformation  were  asleep  on  the 
subject  of  foreign  missions,  the  followers  of  Ignatius 
Loyola  and  Francis  Xavier  were  pushing  their  way  into 
the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth  and  enduring  sufferings 
not  surpassed  in  apostoUc  days. 

But  when  it  comes  to  the  modern  missionary  move- 


60  WORLD  FACTS 

merit,  and  especially  to  the  progress  of  the  last  quarter 
century,  it  is  simple  fairness  to  the  facts  to  state  that 
the  Roman  Catholic  missions  do  not  show  the  large 
results  achieved  by  the  Protestant  bodies.  On  the 
basis  of  money  contributed  the  comparison  is  rather 
painful.  We  are  informed  that  in  1917  the  Roman 
CathoHcs  of  the  United  States  broke  all  previous  rec- 
ords in  their  gifts  to  foreign  missions,  the  total  amount- 
ing to  1805,500.  This  sum,  however,  is  surpassed  by 
five  of  the  Protestant  denominations,  two  of  them, 
the  Presbyterian  and  the  Methodist,  more  than  doub- 
hng  the  above  amount.  As  for  the  total  foreign  mis- 
sionary gifts  of  the  Protestant  societies  of  America 
in  1917  they  amounted  to  $20,000,000.  A  better 
showing  undoubtedly  could  be  made  by  the  Catholics 
of  France,  where  the  missionary  spirit  is  more  pro- 
nounced. No  recent  figures  of  the  French  Church  are 
available,  but  the  contributions  reported  in  former 
years  fall  far  short  of  the  standard  set  up  by  the  Refor- 
mation churches  of  Great  Britain  or  the  United  States. 
The  authorities  have  given  out  the  interesting  state- 
ment that  the  missionary  gifts  from  France  and  Italy 
in  1917  rose  to  their  old  figure  before  the  War,  and  the 
reason  offered  is  the  desire  of  the  Catholics  among  the 
AlHed  nations  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  the  colonial 
soldiers  who  have  fallen  in  battle. 

In  the  matter  of  present  tendency,  however,  figures 
are  of  less  significance  than  the  patent  fact  that  the 
noteworthy  advances  in  the  foreign  field  are  not  found 
in  Catholic  areas.  The  mass  movements  of  India 
are  Protestant  movements;  the  aspect  of  Christianity 
which  attracts  the  Chinese  leaders  is  that  of  the  Free 


RAPID   EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       61 

Churches;  the  awakening  in  Korea  has  been  engineered 
by  Presbyterians  and  Methodists.  Even  the  Africans, 
who,  one  might  argue,  would  be  attracted  by  the  glory 
of  the  priesthood  and  of  the  ritual  of  the  mass,  find  in 
the  more  spontaneous  life  of  the  Protestants  an  at- 
mosphere highly  congenial  to  their  nature.  In  the 
Philippine  Islands  for  four  hundred  years  Spanish 
Christianity  had  its  chance  and  in  all  that  time  it 
failed  to  give  the  Gospel  to  the  people  in  their  own 
language.  It  is  sad  after  these  centuries  to  find  the 
people  of  the  islands  hving  in  such  ignorance  and  moral 
degradation.  They  are,  indeed,  a  piteous  spectacle. 
The  strong  Protestant  reaction  in  Luzon  and  Mindanao 
is  undoubtedly,  in  part,  a  reflection  of  the  American 
spirit  which  is  taking  possession  of  the  people,  itself  no 
small  tribute  to  Protestant  ideals.  This  we  regard  as 
symptomatic  of  the  new  outlook  upon  hfe  of  the  entire 
Eastern  world.  It  is  but  one  of  many  signs  that  the 
nations  are  moving  away  from  the  point  of  view  of 
Rome,  with  its  insistence  upon  authority  and  its  bhnd 
adherence  to  the  past.  As  a  recent  wrter  has  said, 
''The  modern  world  craves  for  a  strengthening  of  the 
inward  forces  that  work  for  seriousness,  for  earnest 
pursuit  of  truth  and  right,  for  more  light,  more  under- 
standing, not  for  a  tightening  of  externally  imposed 
schemes  of  dogma  and  ritual  observance." 

This  tendency  is  not  hkely  to  be  diminished  by  the 
attitude  of  official  Rome  towards  the  issues  of  the  War. 
Asia  will  not  overlook  the  fact  that  in  the  greatest 
struggle  of  history,  when  the  issue  for  righteousness 
among  the  nations  was  drawn  more  sharply  than  ever 
before,  when  civihzation  itself  in  many. of  its  most 


62  WORLD  FACTS 

sacred  possessions  was  at  stake,  the  head  of  the  great 
Roman  Church  failed  to  hft  up  his  voice  in  any  decisive 
way.  Through  its  attachment  to  Austria  and  Spain, 
and  in  its  zeal  for  the  integrity  of  a  world-wide  ecclesi- 
astical organization,  we  have  seen  the  Roman  hier- 
archy turning  its  back  upon  the  progressive  peoples 
of  the  globe.  The  great  figure  in  the  Roman  Church 
emerging  from  the  War  is  not  the  Pope  but  Cardinal 
Mercier,  who  appealed  to  the  Pope  in  vain. 

Christianity  Not  Discredited  by  the  War 

But  has  not  Christianity,  no  matter  what  its  form, 
been  hopelessly  discredited  by  the  spectacle  of  the 
leading  Christian  nations  engaging  in  fratricidal  strife  ? 
It  will  be  recalled  that  in  the  fall  of  1914  Mr.  H.  G. 
Wells  delivered  himself  of  some  very  caustic  remarks 
on  this  subject,  to  the  effect  that  henceforth  we  should 
hear  no  more  of  the  effort  to  propagate  Christianity 
among  the  heathen,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  heathen 
had  at  last  found  us  out.  In  those  days  even  good 
old  Count  Okuma  of  Japan,  usually  of  sympathetic 
and  discriminative  mind,  could  not  resist  the  tempta- 
tion to  intimate  that  ^'Hereafter  our  friends  of  Eng- 
land and  America  may  not  be  quite  so  sure  the  West 
has  anything  to  impart  to  the  East  in  the  realm  of 
religion."  Here  and  there  American  editors  were 
found  pusillanimous  enough  to  fall  in  with  this  line  of 
prophecy. 

The  facts  which  have  been  cited  should  be  a  suffi- 
cient answer.  The  years  of  war  have  seen  an  unpre- 
cedented advance  on  the  part  of  the  missionary  forces. 
At  the  same  time  the  home  churches  have  answered 


RAPID  EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIANITY       63 

the  challenge  by  increasing  their  gifts  by  millions  of 
dollars. 

One  who  has  made  careful  inquiry  of  missionaries  of 
different  denominations,  coming  from  various  sections 
of  the  East,  has  yet  to  find  one  who  knows  of  any 
serious  criticism  of  Christianity  as  such  because  of  the 
War.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  found  that  as  a  rule  the 
people  of  non-Christian  countries  were  able  to  dis- 
criminate between  Christendom  and  Christianity. 
Moreover,  they  were  found  to  discriminate  between 
sundry  types  of  Christianity.  Your  heathen  may  be 
an  objectionable  character  in  many  ways;  he  is  likely 
to  have  too  many  wives  and  to  worship  a  superfluity  of 
gods;  he  may  be  short  on  some  of  the  fundamental 
moralities;  but  do  not  make  the  mistake  of  thinking 
that  he  is  a  fool.  When  occasion  arises  he  can  do  as 
straight  thinking  as  most  men  and  a  great  deal 
straighter  than  some  noveUsts. 

What  has  been  discredited  and  utterly  discredited  is 
that  type  of  Christianity  which  makes  the  Church  a 
mere  adjunct  of  the  State,  which  uses  it  for  selfish  and 
often  unscrupulous  ends,  and  which  deems  that  the 
ethics  of  Jesus  are  not  applicable  to  rulers  and  super- 
men. It  would  have  been  better  for  the  Kingdom  if 
this  type  had  been  discredited  long  ago.  Asia  honors 
Great  Britain,  France,  and  America  for  the  stand 
which  they  took  against  the  blasphemous  pretensions 
of  Germany  and  her  allies.  Christianity  of  the  vital, 
New  Testament  type,  so  far  from  being  discredited,  is 
today  on  a  pedestal  throughout  the  East. 

Reviewing  the  situation  as  to  the  extension  move- 
ment of  Christianity  throughout  the  world,  we  must 


64  WORLD  FACTS 

agree  with  Professor  Edward  C.  Moore,  when  he  says, 
'^The  Church  today  is  not  only  confronting  the  greatest 
opportunity  it  has  ever  had,  but  the  greatest  oppor- 
tunity it  ever  can  have,  since  there  are  no  more  Asias 
and  Africas  to  be  opened  to  our  Gospel."  Another 
writer  has  remarked,  ''We  do  not  doubt  that  the  King- 
dom of  God  is  coming.  The  problem  is:  Is  it  not 
coming  too  fast?"  He  holds  that,  in  view  of  the 
breakdown  of  the  non-Christian  systems,  the  Church 
is  confronted  with  an  overwhelming  opportunity  and 
responsibiUty.  Any  religion,  he  argues,  is  better  than 
none,  and  it  would  be  better  for  the  non-Christian 
people  to  retain  their  ancient  faiths  unless  we  are 
prepared  to  lead  them  to  the  full  light  of  Christian 
truth. 

Whatever  significance  there  may  be  in  the  other 
aspects  of  the  world  situation  which  we  shall  discuss, 
we  may  rejoice  in  a  world  ready  and  eager  for  the 
Christian  message.     We  live  in  a  new  fulness  of  time. 


FACT  IV 

THE  EAST  AND  THE  WEST  FIGHT  FOR  A 
COMMON   CAUSE 

It  was  Professor  John  Dewey,  of  Columbia  Univer- 
sity, who  made  the  remark,  ''There  is  just  one  thing 
that  can  overcome  the  deep-seated  antagonisms  of  the 
nations  and  races  of  the  earth,  and  that  is  an  invasion 
from  Mars."  And  then  he  added  significantly,  "And 
that  is  precisely  what  has  come  to  pass."  In  this  keen 
observation  Professor  Dewey  fixes  upon  the  first  great 
fruitage  of  the  war.  Possibly,  several  years  hence, 
when  the  entire  harvest  of  results  is  gathered  in,  the 
movement  towards  world  unity  which  the  War  has  so 
conspicuously  advanced  will  remain  as  its  outstand- 
ing glory.  It  is  truly  a  wonderful  providence  that  the 
struggle  which  divided  the  world  into  two  warring 
camps  has  served  to  unite  the  world  to  a  degree  re- 
garded as  quite  out  of  the  range  of  possibihties  a  few 
years  ago.  The  one  thing  needed  was  devotion  to  and 
participation  in  a  common  cause.  The  basis  of  unity 
had  been  laid  in  the  intellectual  movement  which  we 
have  considered  under  "The  Renaissance  of  Asia" 
and  in  the  religious  movement  which  has  advanced 
Christianity  at  the  expense  of  the  other  faiths.  It 
remained  for  some  stupendous  incentive  to  appear 
which  should  swing  the  East  and  the  West  into  line 
for  a  joint  campaign. 

65 


66  WORLD  FACTS 

Some  one  has  said,  ''There  are  three  things  which 
bind  men  together :  a  common  love,  a  common  danger, 
and  a  common  task.''  If  we  cannot  claim  love  as  a 
basis  of  union  among  the  aUies  which  opposed  German 
savagery  and  aggression,  we  may  at  least  have  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  other  two  motives 
were  well  to  the  front.  It  remains  for  love  to  have  her 
perfect  work  in  the  years  which  he  ahead. 

A  Cross-Section  of  Humanity 

In  one  of  liis  messages  President  Wilson  called  the 
attention  of  the  German  Government  to  the  fact  that 
they  had  shocked  the  moral  sense  of  three-quarters  of 
the  population  of  the  earth.  Others  have  emphasized 
the  number  of  nations  large  and  small  —  twenty-five, 
if  we  include  Arabia  and  the  Czecho-Slovaks  —  which 
have  thrown  in  their  lot  with  Belgium,  France,  and 
England.  More  impressives  till  were  the  stories  and 
pictures  which  came  to  us  from  the  Western  front, 
descriptive  of  the  strange  minghng  of  the  Hght  and 
dark  races  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe.  Dr. 
John  R.  Mott  upon  returning  from  France,  spoke  of 
the  Allied  army  as  ''a  cross-section  of  humanity."  He 
mentioned  seeing  in  the  course  of  a  few  days'  travel 
at  the  front  representatives  of  the  following  peoples: 
French,  British,  Belgians,  Russians,  Italians,  Portu- 
guese, Australians,  Canadians,  South  Africans,  Brazil- 
ians, Japanese,  Chinese,  Indo-Chinese,  East  Indians, 
American  Indians,  Moroccans,  Algerians,  Basutos,  Mal- 
agasy, and,  of  course,  Americans  —  twenty  in  all. 
''Never,''  he  declared,  "has  there  been  such  an  inter- 
national representative  gathering  on  one  field  to  fight 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     67 

for  a  common  object."  Most  of  these  nationalities 
were  represented  in  a  single  conference  of  Christian 
workers,  which  was  assembled  to  meet  Dr.  Mott,  and 
which  in  its  rainbow  aspect,  he  said,  reminded  him  of 
the  World's  Missionary  Conference  at  Edinbur^  in 
1910.  He  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  inter- 
national army  was  composed  not  of  the  anemic  and 
destitute,  but  of  the  best  of  the  world's  manhood,  the 
flower  of  European,  American,  and  Asiatic  youth. 

Another  impression  of  world  unity,  rising  from  the 
wreckage  of  war,  came  to  us  when  we  read  of  the  com- 
position of  General  Allenby's  army  which  captured 
Jerusalem  from  the  Turks.  The  despatches  had 
spoken  of  the  expedition  as  British,  but  when  the  facts 
were  made  known  it  appeared  that  General  Allenby  led 
into  the  Sacred  City  on  that  memorable  day  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1918,  a  force  composed  of  EngUsh,  Scots,  Welsh, 
Irish,  Austrahans,  New  Zealanders,  East  Indians, 
French,  and  ItaUans.  This  has  well  been  called  the 
last  of  the  Crusades,  since  it  represents  not  only  Chris- 
tian Europe  but  an  outraged  world  arrayed  against 
the  barbarity  of  the  Turk. 

But  we  must  not  forget  Africa  and  the  Islands  of  the 
Sea.  If  anything  more  is  needed  in  the  way  of  a  world 
demonstration  against  Germany's  selfish  aims,  it  may 
be  found  in  the  remarkable  response  of  the  wild  tribes 
of  the  Dark  Continent  and  the  one  time  heathen,  but 
now  Christian,  races  of  Australasia.  No  complete  list 
of  African  peoples  participating  in  the  War  on  the  side 
of  the  Entente  Allies  has  as  yet  been  published,  but, 
as  the  news  has  filtered  through  from  France  and  from 
the  campaigns  of  German  East  and  German  Southwest 


68  WORLD  FACTS 

Africa,  it  has  been  possible  to  check  off  the  names  of 
the  following  nations  or  tribes:  Kaffirs,  Hottentots, 
Zulus,  Basutos,  Xosa,  Griquas,  Shangaans,  Mashonas, 
Matabele,  Askari,  Nyassa,  Ekite,  Nigerians,  Senegalese, 
Sudanese,  Moors,  Algerians,  Egyptians,  and  Mala- 
gasy. This  makes  a  Ust  of  nineteen  peoples,  with 
several  of  the  titles  standing  for  large  aggregations 
rather  than  for  separate  tribes. 

World  unity  indeed!  Not  through  the  abstract 
reasonings  of  social  reformers  or  the  dreamings  of  the 
poets,  but  wrought  out  in  flesh  and  blood,  at  the 
price  of  untold  suffering  and  woe.  Modern  civilization 
has  demonstrated  beyond  all  question  the  truth  of  the 
Bible  saying  that  God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all 
nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  upon  all  the  face  of  the 
earth.  During  these  years  of  war  we  have  witnessed 
this  blood  flowing  in  a  common  stream  for  the  saving 
of  the  world. 

The  Non-Christian  World  Solid  for 
Righteousness 

The  deepest  significance  of  the  participation  in  the 
War  of  the  dusky  races  of  Asia  and  Africa  hes  in  the 
fact  that  this  is  the  reaction  of  the  non-Christian 
world  in  behalf  of  national  and  international  righteous- 
ness. How  many  have  stopped  to  consider  that,  aside 
from  Turkey,  not  one  non-Christian  nation  was  willing 
to  stand  with  Germany?  How  many  realize  that 
''Heathen  Asia"  made  up  her  mind  long  before  Chris- 
tian America  came  to  a  decision;  that,  while  we  were 
being  exhorted  to  remain  intellectually  as  well  as 
pohtically  neutral,  the  Buddhists  of  Japan,  the  Con- 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     69 

fucianists  of  China,  and  the  Hindus  of  India  not  only 
were  taking  sides,  but  were  throwing  in  such  resources 
as  they  possessed  in  behalf  of  the  outraged  nations  of 
Europe?  The  fact  that  the  War  rose  in  the  West 
through  the  denial  of  all  that  is  characteristic  and  fine 
in  Christian  culture,  gives  tremendous  significance  to 
the  choice  of  the  nations  living  in  '^  heathen  darkness." 

Japan's  course  was  determined,  in  the  main,  by  her 
alhance  with  Great  Britain,  and  it  may  be  argued  that 
no  special  credit  belongs  to  her.  True;  yet  we  are  to 
remember  that  Japan's  governmental  model  was  not 
England  but  Prussia,  and  that  for  fifty  years  she  had 
held  German  soldiers,  statemen,  and  scholars  in  the 
highest  admiration.  Then  she  beholds  Germany, 
under  the  leadership  of  these  very  men,  repudiating 
her  alliances  and  treaties,  calling  them  *' scraps  of 
paper,"  and  regarding  the  weaker  nations  as  so  much 
prey.  What  course  should  Japan  pursue,  what  ex- 
ample follow?  Why  should  she  stand  by  her  cove- 
nants any  more  than  Germany?  Germany  called 
herself  Christian;  Japan  made  no  such  claim.  Under 
the  circumstances  Japan's  fidehty  to  the  Enghsh  treaty 
was  an  act  of  high  moral  quality.  It  placed  her  defi- 
nitely among  the  nations  which  stand  for  good  faith. 
The  bearing  of  this  decision  on  the  part  of  the  leading 
nation  of  Asia  upon  the  reestablishment  of  interna- 
tional law  and  the  maintenance  of  permanent  peace 
has  not  escaped  the  attention  of  the  onlooking  world. 
It  is  one  of  the  great  reassuring  events  arising  out  of 
this  war,  an  event  which  steadies  our  minds  as  we  look 
into  the  future. 

China's  official  choice  was  late,  following  that  of  the 


70  WORLD  FACTS 

United  States.  Yet  China  contributed  her  labor 
battalions,  sending  to  France  not  less  than  200,000  of 
her  coolies;  and  from  the  first  her  leaders  let  it  be 
known  that  their  sympathies  were  on  the  side  of  the 
AlHes.  China  is  desperately  poor  and  might  easily 
have  become  a  prey  to  German  propaganda  and  gold. 
Those  who  understand  how  many  undercurrents  were 
setting  towards  Berlin  in  the  early  period  of  the  War, 
are  outspoken  in  their  praise  of  China's  choice.  It 
shows  that  Asia's  heart  beats  true  when  it  comes  to  a 
straight  issue  of  righteousness  and  decency  among 
nations. 

India  is  the  admiration  of  the  world.  Without 
regard  to  religion,  race,  or  caste,  and  forgetful,  for  the 
most  part,  of  past  differences  with  Great  Britain,  she 
threw  herself  without  reserve  into  the  great  cause. 
Her  soldiers  have  fought  valiantly  on  every  front; 
her  sacrifices  in  life  and  in  treasure  have  been  great. 
Have  any  poetical  Hues  been  written  during  the  War 
more  touchingly  beautiful  than  those  of  Sarojini  Naidu, 
addressed  to  England,  and  entitled,  ''The  Gift  of 
India,"  in  which  she  sings  of  the  loyalty  of  her  coun- 
try's soldiers  in  the  great  war  for  freedom? 

"Gathered  like  pearls  in  their  alien  graves 
Silent  they  sleep  by  the  Persian  waves; 
Scattered  like  shells  on  Egyptian  sands. 
They  lie  with  pale  brows  and  brave,  broken  hands; 
They  are  strewn  like  blossoms  mown  down  by  chance 
On    the    blood-brown    meadows    of    Flanders    and 
France." 

Bishop  Warne,  of  Lucknow,  tells  how  his  daughter 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  War  hung  a  large  map  of  the 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     71 

world  in  her  study,  on  which  she  was  accustomed  to 
trace  the  progress  of  the  armies  on  the  various  fronts, 
and  how  prominent  natives  from  near  and  far  would 
come  in  and  ask  to  have  her  explain  the  latest  news  and 
indicate  on  the  map  where  the  Indian  troops  were 
engaged.  One  day  an  aged  man,  from  a  city  far  in  the 
north,  arrived  and  inquired  how  things  were  going  for 
the  AlUes.  When  all  was  explained,  he  expressed  his 
gratitude,  and  then,  on  the  supposition  that  she  was 
EngHsh,  he  deUvered  himself  on  this  wise:  *'I  have 
come  on  a  long  journey  to  learn  these  things,  and  I 
want  you  to  know  that  my  heart  is  full.  When  you 
go  back  to  England  and  see  your  King,  I  want  you  to 
dehver  this  message  from  me.  Say,  '  ]\Iy  grandfather 
Hved  under  the  British  raj ;  my  father  Uved  under  the 
British  raj ;  I  have  lived  all  my  Hfe  under  the  British 
raj,  and  my  children  are  hving  under  the  British  raj 
today.  In  all  these  years  we  have  had  justice,  pro- 
tection, peace,  and  plenty.  Tell  the  King  that  we 
Indians  are  grateful  for  his  rule  over  our  land,  and  that 
we  will  stand  by  him  to  the  very  end." 

But  it  is  to  Mohammedan  India  that  we  must  look 
for  the  finest  demonstration  of  loyalty  to  England  and 
her  cause,  since  the  price  of  their  loyalty  was  a  com- 
plete break  with  their  caUph  and  the  Moslem  author- 
ities at  Constantinople.  We  have  it  on  good  authority 
that  when  the  proclamation  of  the  Jehad  or  ''Holy 
War"  was  received  in  North  India  in  the  fall  of  1914, 
the  Mohammedan  leaders,  incensed  beyond  measure 
by  the  arrogance  of  the  caliph,  petitioned  the  British 
authorities  that  Moslem  troops  from  India  might  be 
allowed  to  defend  Egypt  against  the  invasion  of  the 


72  WORLD  FACTS 

Turkish  army.  We  know  that  this  privilege  was 
granted  in  some  measure,  and  that  when  Jemal  Pasha 
marched  against  Egypt  in  the  ill-fated  expedition  of 
the  spring  of  1915,  among  the  opposing  troops  lined  up 
along  the  Suez  Canal  was  a  Moslem  battaUon  from 
India.  We  know  also  that  when  the  Turkish  officers 
learned  this  fact,  chuckhng  with  glee,  they  passed  the 
word  around  among  the  soldiers  and  reckoned  upon  an 
easy  victory.  They  said,  ''You  will  find  the  canal 
defended  by  Moslems.  When  ordered  to  charge  you 
have  but  to  shout,  'We  are  your  brothers.  We  are 
fellow-Moslems'  and  they  will  throw  down  their  arms 
and  welcome  you  as  brothers,  and  we  shall  march  into 
Egypt  as  on  a  hohday  excursion."  The  poor  wretches 
beUeved  this  word,  as  well  they  might  —  it  always  had 
been  so  —  and  when  the  first  charge  was  made  and 
they  shouted  as  they  had  been  instructed,  they  were 
met  by  a  blaze  of  rapid-fire  guns  and  were  mown  down 
in  heaps  upon  the  desert  sands.^  This  incident  seems 
not  to  have  gotten  into  the  papers,  which  is  the  more 
regrettable,  since  it  is  a  marking  event  in  the  modern 
world.  For  the  first  time  in  history,  so  far  as  we  know, 
Moslems  of  the  orthodox  brand  were  found  fighting 
against  Moslems.     We  owe  it  to  India's  loyalty  to  the 

^  This  story,  which  has  been  called  in  question  in  certain  quar- 
ters as  "inconceivable,"  has  been  verified  to  the  writer  by  Sir 
Gen.  James  Wilcocks,  who  commanded  the  Indian  contingent 
in  France  which  later  went  to  Egypt.  Asked  if  it  were  true  that 
Indian  Moslems  participated  in  the  Egyptian  campaign  and  that 
they  fired  upon  the  Moslem  troops  from  Turkey,  he  replied,  "It 
is  absolutely  true.  They  were  my  own  brigade."  As  to  such  a 
procedure  being  "inconceivable,"  he  remarked,  "Many  incon- 
ceivable things  have  happened  in  this  war." 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     73 

Allies  that  the  solidarity  of  Islam  has  been  shattered 
beyond  repair. 

The  Loyalty  of  the  Lesser  Races 

When  the  full  history  of  this  remarkable  war  is 
written  there  will  be  a  chapter  devoted  to  the  courage 
and  devotion  of  the  lesser  races  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  the 
island  possessions.  Tribes  whose  names  one  rarely 
hears  and  whose  whereabouts  would  set  many  an 
educated  man  to  guessing,  have  revealed  an  ethical 
grasp  and  loyalty  not  surpassed  by  India  or  Japan. 
Little  Siam,  for  example,  entered  the  War  full  of  fight 
and  with  a  determination  to  count  in  some  definite 
way  on  the  side  of  the  Allies.  The  last  step  reported 
was  the  sending  by  their  king  of  500  of  their  choice 
young  men  to  France  in  the  aero  service,  with  full 
equipment  of  battle-planes  and  armament. 

The  Zulus  at  the  outbreak  of  the  War  were  engaged 
in  bitter  strife  with  the  authorities  of  the  Union  of 
South  Africa  over  the  land  question,  and  were  about 
to  send  a  deputation  to  London  to  register  a  protest 
with  the  Imperial  Parhament.  The  moment,  however, 
they  heard  of  the  rape  of  Belgium  the  Zulu  leaders 
voted  to  postpone  all  questions  in  dispute  and  to  throw 
their  strength  wholeheartedly  into  the  defense  of  the 
English  cause. 

A  truly  remarkably  thing  happened  in  New  Zealand. 
The  men  of  certain  of  the  Maori  tribes  enhsted  in  such 
numbers  that  the  authorities  feared  the  extinction  of 
this  fine  South  Sea  race.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
the  Maori  troops  fought  with  great  gallantry  in  the 
GalHpoli  campaign,  especially  distinguishing  themselves 


74  WORLD  FACTS 

in  the  Suvla  Bay  adventure.  Their  losses  in  Gallipoli 
and  France  were  so  heavy  that  the  Defense  Minister 
of  New  Zealand,  Sir  James  Allen,  had  to  instruct  the 
Ngapubi  tribe  to  hold  back  their  young  men,  pending 
the  enforcement  of  conscription  among  the  tribes 
further  south. 

The  story  comes  of  a  tribe  in  South  Nigeria,  called 
the  Ekite,  which  suffered  severely  through  ithe  War, 
yet  which,  desiring  to  do  something  additional,  took 
up  a  collection,  as  the  result  of  which  they  sent  twenty- 
five  pounds  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  Fund. 

Some  day  Germany  will  learn  of  such  facts  as  these 
and  wonder. 

The  more  we  study  this  reaction  of  the  non-Christian 
world,  the  more  shall  we  be  impressed  by  its  vast 
significance  in  the  development  of  right  relations  be- 
tween races,  nations,  and  social  groups.  Yet  we  must 
not  assume  too  much.  The  milennium  has  not  yet 
dawned.  The  old  problems,  as  old  as  the  race,  arising 
from  geographical  barriers,  from  economic  pressure, 
from  political  aspiration,  from  racial  temperament, 
and  from  religious  prejudice,  will  assert  themselves  in 
coming  years,  and  furnish  recurring  occasion  for  rivalry 
and  strife.  Motives  that  lie  deeper  than  self-defense 
and  national  honor  must  be  stirred  if  we  are  to  have  a 
world  united  in  peace  and  cooperative  effort.  We  can 
say  with  Edith  Cavell,  '^  Patriotism  is  not  enough." 

On  the  other  hand,  let  us  not  minimize  the  present 
result.  What  has  been  achieved  is  the  demonstration 
on  a  world  scale  that  the  most  diverse  nations  can  be 
counted  upon  to  stand  for  a  civilization  based  upon 
righteousness  and  humanity,  and  that  when  occasion 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     75 

arises  these  nations  are  willing  to  make  great  sacri- 
fices in  defense  of  their  ideal. 

Thkee  Distinct  Gains 

Specifically,  what  good  hope  does  this  offer  for  the 
future  of  the  race  ?  Of  three  things  we  may  be  reason- 
ably sure. 

1.  The  New  World  Consciousness.  Ten  or  fifteen 
years  ago  we  were  given  to  saying  that  the  world  was 
becoming  one  neighborhood.  We  should  have  saved 
that  word  for  the  present  time,  because  a  neighbor- 
hood implies  not  only  propinquity  but  friendhness. 
Steam  and  electricity  had  indeed  drawn  the  nations 
close  together  in  the  matter  of  travel  and  the  exchange 
of  commodities;  but  who  will  claim  that  these  inven- 
tions were  developing  a  neighborly  feeling?  The 
unity  of  those  days  appears  now  as  a  thin  veneer  of 
commercial  rivalry  and  too  often  of  selfish  exploitation. 
Today  the  most  diverse  and  widely  separated  nations 
have  been  brought  together  on  the  basis  of  mutual 
sympathy  and  helpfulness.  In  discovering  one  an- 
other they  have  discovered  their  world. 

Consider  the  astonishing  things  which  have  hap- 
pened in  the  way  of  an  education  in  universalism! 
Millions  of  Americans  from  every  walk  of  fife  crossing 
the  ocean  and  mingling  with  the  peoples  of  England, 
France,  Italy,  Russia,  and  Central  Europe!  "What  a 
broadening  experience!"  everyone  is  remarking.  "A 
trip  to  Europe  at  the  expense  of  Uncle  Sam,"  is  the 
light-hearted  way  in  which  a  soldier  from  the  West 
described  his  campaign.  And  what  an  education, 
too,  for  us  at  home!    What  lessons  in  geography  we 


76  WORLD  FACTS 

received  in  those  daj^s,  with  maps  in  every  newspaper, 
revised  up  to  the  hour,  and  our  atlases  no  longer 
tucked  away  behind  glass  doors  but  lying  conveniently 
on  the  table!  We  read  of  Russian  troops  transported 
to  France  via  Vladivostok  and  the  Indian  Ocean,  or 
of  an  American  Red  Cross  Unit  sent  to  Palestine  via 
Cape  Town  and  the  Red  Sea,  and  then  followed  such  a 
searching  of  atlases  and  encyclopedias  as  we  had  not 
experienced  since  college  days. 

The  British  for  over  a  century  have  been  world 
rovers;  their  interests  have  been  widely  scattered  over 
the  earth;  their  journals  have  been  noteworthy  for  a 
cosmopolitan  tone;  yet  today  the  world  seems  new  to 
them  and  they  confess  they  did  not  know  their  own 
India  or  even  Canada  or  Australia.  As  for  France, 
she  has  become  the  host  of  the  nations.  If  her  enemies 
have  swarmed  over  her  borders  and  captured  her  fair 
cities  and  towns,  her  friends  have  swarmed  to  her 
defense  and  captured  her  heart.  Europe  and  America 
through  this  war  are  coming  into  a  new  world  con- 
sciousness. 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  Asia  and  Africa?  Here 
was  a  company  of  swarthy  Gurkhas  from  the  Punjab  on 
their  way  to  Marseilles.  This  involved  the  undreamed- 
of experience  of  leaving  their  native  land.  They  tra- 
verse the  Indian  Ocean,  the  Red  Sea,  the  Suez  Canal, 
and  the  Mediterranean.  From  France  they  are  trans- 
ported to  Egypt,  from  Egypt  to  German  East  Africa, 
from  there  to  Mesopotamia,  and  finally  we  read  of 
them  on  that  wonderful  march  of  700  miles  through 
Persia  to  Baku  on  the  Caspian  Sea.  What  are  those 
Gurkhas  saying  to  their  relatives  and  friends  now 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     77 

that  they  are  back  in  the  Punjab?  What  is  the  world 
of  their  thought  and  feehng? 

There  was  that  battahon  of  3000  Chinese  cooUes 
from  Shantung,  embarking  for  work  behind  the  hues 
in  Picardy.  We  traced  their  journey  across  the  Pacific, 
across  Canada,  across  the  Atlantic  to  France.  Did  we 
consider  what  was  happening  in  their  heads  along  the 
way?  Imagine  a  regiment  of  ebony-hued  Senegalese 
swinging  through  the  boulevards  of  Paris!  The  his- 
torians tell  us  of  Europe's  break  with  provinciahsm 
in  the  time  of  the  Crusades,  as  a  result  of  the  coming 
and  going  of  armies  to  the  Levant.  The  interweaving 
of  races  at  that  time  was  not  a  circumstance  to  what 
has  happened  in  our  day. 

This  is  far  more  than  an  expansion  of  geographical 
knowledge.  By  the  same  experience  we  have  come 
into  an  appreciation  of  world  cooperation.  The  phys- 
ical contact  with  aUen  races  —  Europeans,  Asiatics, 
Africans,  becoming  comrades  in  arms  —  is  a  factor  of 
immense  significance.  But  possibly  of  even  greater 
value  is  the  fact  that  the  world  through  the  war  period 
accustomed  itself  to  act  together  for  common  ends. 
Five  years  ago  who  would  have  been  bold  enough  to 
suggest  the  pooling  of  the  resources  of  the  earth  in 
agriculture  and  industry,  the  international  supervision 
of  shipping,  and  the  control  of  pubhcity  through  a 
world-wide  censorship?  Events  of  this  kind  came 
upon  us  with  such  rapidity  that  few  reahzed  the 
education  we  were  receiving.  In  four  years  the  human 
race  has  found  itself  as  in  no  other  period  in  history. 
To  quote  Professor  Dewey  again,  ''The  world  for  the 
first  time  is  poUtically  as  weU  as  astronomically  round." 


78  WORLD  FACTS 

2.  The  New  Nationalism.  With  the  new  world  con- 
sciousness comes  a  new  sense  of  national  responsibiUty. 
This  will  reveal  itself  particularly  in  the  deahngs  of  the 
Great  Powers  with  their  colonial  dependencies.  Grati- 
tude alone  will  dictate  a  more  just  and  generous  poUcy 
than  in  the  past.  India  will  be  demanding  a  reward 
for  her  steadfast  loyalty  in  the  War,  and  already,  it 
would  appear.  Great  Britain  is  in  a  mood  to  grant  any 
reasonable  request.  So  with  lesser  peoples,  Uke  the 
aborigines  of  New  Zealand  and  sundry  African  tribes. 
France  will  be  wanting  to  do  great  things  for  Algeria, 
Morocco,  and  the  Sudan.  Even  Italy  is  bound  to 
catch  the  new  vision  and  to  treat  in  a  more  brotherly 
way  her  newly-acquired  Tripohtan  subjects.  As  for 
the  arrangement  by  which  Italy  was  to  receive  Abys- 
sinia as  her  reward  for  breaking  the  alhance  with  Ger- 
many and  Austria,  the  powers  are  already  ashamed 
of  the  bargain.  We  may  at  least  thank  the  Russian 
radicals  for  that,  since  we  owe  it  to  them  that  the 
secret  agreements  made  between  the  Alhes  early  in  the 
War  were  published  to  the  world. 

We  may  look  with  confidence  for  notable  reforms 
in  colonial  administration.  It  is  safe  to  predict  that 
we  shall  hear  no  more  of  such  things  as  the  Congo 
atrocities,  the  exploitation  of  the  Putamayo  Indians, 
the  indenturing  of  native  labor  in  Mozambique  and 
Angola,  the  forcing  of  opium  upon  the  Chinese,  and 
the  refusal  of  land  and  homes  to  the  Negroes  in  their 
own  continent.  Gratitude  will  help  to  make  such 
abuses  impossible,  but  even  more  are  we  to  feel  the 
force  of  an  awakening  national  conscience  pervading 
many  lands. 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     79 

If  we  seek  for  a  term  which  expresses  the  changed 
point  of  view  we  may  find  it  in  the  word  ''trusteeship." 
Hereafter  great  nations  are  to  hold  their  colonial 
possessions  not  as  their  own,  but  in  trust  for  the  people 
of  the  land.  Whatever  advantages  the  governing 
power  is  to  acquire  must  be  subsidiary  to  the  welfare 
of  the  nationals.  This  is  a  principle  which  has  been 
indirectly  recognized  in  certain  treaties  and  agreements 
dealing  with  backward  races,  so  far  as  particular 
abuses  are  concerned,  but  it  never  has  been  enunciated 
as  of  general  force,  far  less  has  it  been  put  into  practice. 
Hereafter,  enlightened  international  sentiment  will  not 
tolerate  any  lower  basis  for  colonial  administration. 
If  Germany  is  to  lose  permanently  her  colonies  in 
Africa  it  is  because  she  insisted  upon  being  owner 
rather  than  trustee.  Of  Germany's  treatment  of  her 
African  subjects  one  well  quahfied  to  speak  has  said, 
"At  best  her  colonies  were  well-regulated  prisons." 

Such  a  principle  as  has  been  enunciated  requires 
that  not  only  justice  but  respect  and  good  will  should 
be  extended  to  dependent  and  backward  races.  Eng- 
lish officials  will  need  to  abandon  their  attitude  of 
lofty  superiority  if  they  expect  to  retain  the  loyalty  of 
India's  awakened  milUons.  The  Chinese  must  not  be 
treated  Hke  pariah  dogs  in  the  European  section  of 
Shanghai,  if  China  is  to  take  her  place  among  the 
repubUcs  of  the  world  and  render  her  share  for  the 
good  of  humanity.  Africans  who  have  fought  against 
the  Germans  on  the  East  Coast  may  not  be  kicked 
around  by  Englishmen  in  Durban  and  Johannesburg. 
Already  there  are  signs  of  a  better  feehng  between 
those  races,  which  have  been  fighting  side  by  side. 


80  WORLD  FACTS 

Nothing  that  came  out  of  France  is  more  reassuring 
than  that  extract  from  a  letter  of  an  American  Negro 
soldier  to  his  mother  at  home,  which  caught  the  eye  of 
a  thoughtful  censor  and  so  was  given  to  the  public. 
What  he  said  was  this:  ''I  tell  you,  mammy,  they  treat 
us  fine.  There's  plenty  of  fighting,  but  we's  just  as 
good  as  anybody  else.  We  don't  ever  know  we's 
black  unless  we  looks  in  the  glass."  Still  better  is  this 
incident  from  our  own  Southland.  In  a  certain  aris- 
tocratic home  of  the  South  when  the  colored  house-boy 
entered  the  Army,  in  recognition  of  the  event  the  lady 
of  the  house  hung  a  serv  ce  flag  in  the  kitchen  window, 
having  previously  hung  a  service  flag  in  the  parlor 
window  in  honor  of  her  son's  enhstment.  Later  the 
son  returned  home  and  inquired  what  the  flag  in  the 
kitchen  meant.  When  he  was  told  it  stood  for  Jim, 
their  servant,  he  said,  '' Mother,  no  service  flag  shall 
hang  in  the  kitchen  of  this  house.  Jim  and  I  are  fight- 
ing side  by  side  in  this  war."  And,  taking  the  colored 
servant's  flag,  he  placed  it  in  the  parlor  window  beside 
his  own. 

But  the  sense  of  appreciation  and  responsibility  is 
by  no  means  limited  to  the  Great  Powers,  since  the 
weaker  people  are  experiencing  an  equal  feeling  of 
gratitude  towards  their  protectors.  Lloyd  George,  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  War,  declared  the  struggle  was  in 
behalf  of  the  small  nations,  and  the  small  nations 
were  not  slow  to  adopt  this  view.  Obliged  to  choose 
between  Germany  with  her  ruthless  treatment  of 
Serbia  and  Belgium,  and  England  with  her  chivalrous 
defense  of  her  weak  neighbor,  they  were  not  long  in 
making  up  their  minds.     They  could  not  afford  to  be 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     81 

independent.  They  needed  England  and  France  as 
much  as  England  and  France  needed  them.  It  is  the 
demonstration  of  the  interdependence  of  great  and 
small  that  gives  this  war  its  special  value  with  reference 
to  the  future  of  nationalism.  What  we  behold  is 
nothing  less  than  a  brotherhood  of  states  both  within 
and  without  the  spheres  of  the  Great  Powers.  England 
and  France  have  gained  immeasurably  through  the 
unification  of  their  diverse  and  widely  scattered  people, 
but  every  little  detached  kingdom  of  Asia  and  even 
the  wild  tribes  of  Africa  stand  to  gain  by  the  same 
process.  We  are  witnessing  a  new  spirit  of  responsibil- 
ity and  appreciation  all  round  the  circle. 

For  one  thing,  we  are  likely  to  see  a  lessening  for  a 
long  time  to  come  of  the  incessant  nagging  to  which 
Great  Britain  has  been  subjected  on  the  part  of  the 
races  who  have  received  the  most  at  her  hands.  If 
England  has  learned  to  appreciate  her  Indians,  her 
Egyptians,  and  her  Boers,  these  hitherto  disgruntled 
people  have  learned  to  appreciate  England.  Already 
they  are  saying  in  effect,  "We  have  done  this  great 
thing  together.  Let  us  keep  on  doing  great  things 
together."  Kipling  sets  forth  this  new  point  of  view  in 
his  poem,  "The  Return,"  in  which  he  pictures  a  Boer 
soldier  starting  for  home  upon  the  declaration  of  peace. 

''Peace  is  declared,  an'  I  return 

To  'Ackneystadt,  but  not  the  same; 
Things  'ave  transpired  which  made  me  learn 

The  size  and  meanin'  of  the  game. 
I  did  no  more  than  others  did, 

I  don't  know  where  the  change  began; 
I  started  as  an  average  kid, 

I  finished  as  a  thinkin'  man. 


82  WORLD  FACTS 

If  England  was  what  England  seems, 
An'  not  the  England  of  our  dreams, 

But  only  putty,  brass,  an'  paint 

'Ow  quick  we'd  drop  'er!    But  she  ain't!'' 

The  new  nationalism  contains  more  possibilities  for 
world  betterment  than  can  even  be  hinted  at  here. 
It  may  be  said  in  general,  however,  that  hereafter  no 
nation  is  likely  to  have  its  rights  and  interests  over- 
looked because  it  is  small,  and  no  nation  will  be  allowed 
to  trample  upon  another  because  it  is  great. 

3.  The  Advancement  of  the  Christian  Cause.  And 
now  we  come  to  the  most  surprising  thing  of  all. 
Paganism  fought  for  a  world  huilt  upon  the  Christian 
plan.  If  we  may  consider  that  the  great  objectives, 
as  they  emerged  through  the  on-goings  of  the  War,  are 
righteousness,  humanity,  and  peace,  we  may  surely 
take  strong  satisfaction  in  the  fact  that  the  non- 
Christian  peoples  of  the  world  enlisted  on  our  side. 
Whether  they  know  it  or  not,  and  a  great  many  of 
them  do  know  it,  they  joined  in  a  fight  for  the  essentials 
of  the  Christian  religion;  they  poured  out  their  Hfe 
blood  to  help  establish  the  institution  which  above  all 
others  is  undermining  the  foundations  of  their  own 
belief.  The  War  has  made  them  at  home  in  Christen- 
dom. 

What  an  astonishing  situation !  Who  could  possibly 
have  foreseen  such  a  rounding  up  of  world  forces  in 
favor  of  the  Church  of  Christ  as  the  result  of  a  war 
which  many  in  high  places  regarded  as  writing  the 
doom  of  the  Church ?  What  have  Mr.  H.  G.  Wells  and 
those  who  echoed  his  timid  note  to  say  of  this  outcome  ? 
But  let  us  indulge  in  no  bitter  criticisms  or  recrimina- 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     83 

tions.  Probably  most  of  us  will  prefer  to  acknowledge 
the  shortness  of  our  own  spiritual  vision.  The  event 
has  transpired  in  such  a  truly  wonderful  way  that  we 
have  disposition  only  for  gratitude  and  inspiration. 
From  out  the  heart  of  the  unbeheving  world  there  has 
come  to  us  this  overwhelming  demonstration  of  the 
necessity  of  the  principles  of  the  Christian  reUgion,  if 
the  world  is  to  Uve  and  work  and  grow  as  one  family  of 
God.  Not  since  the  days  of  Constantine  have  we  had 
so  compelling  a  demonstration  of  the  absoluteness  of 
Christianity  as  the  basis  of  world  hfe. 

The  reflex  influence  of  this  fact  upon  the  pagan 
world  must  be  considerable.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
best  way  to  consohdate  a  man's  faith  in  any  cause  is 
to  lead  him  to  become  an  advocate  of  that  cause. 
How  much  more,  then,  must  be  the  value  of  fighting 
for  what  has  been  only  vaguely  reaUzed  or  beheved? 
Already  the  evidence  is  coming  in  which  shows  that  this 
decision  of  the  non-Christian  people  once  made  and 
registered  serves  to  clarify  all  their  thinking  in  the 
reUgious  as  in  the  political  realm.  Peculiarly  touch- 
ing was  the  speech  made  by  a  chief  of  one  of  the  Maori 
tribes.  Called  upon  to  advise  his  young  men  as  they 
were  about  to  embark  for  the  War,  he  addressed  them 
in  these  words : 

"For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Maori  race, 
all  tribes  are  united  to  fight  together  for  the  Empire. 
We  have  learned  wisdom,  and  regret  our  former  vio- 
lence; and  we  are  now  at  last  united  to  fight  for  our 
white  brethren.  You  soldiers,  don't  forget  that  we 
all  originate  from  one  common  stock.  We  worship  one 
God.  Be  truthful,  be  honorable.  You  carry  the 
honor  of  the  Maori  race  in  your  hands.     Be  brave; 


84  WORLD  FACTS 

and  remember  the  flag  you  will  have  flying  over  your 
tents.  With  reference  to  your  religious  beliefs,  don't 
forget  that  you  aim  for  one  Heaven.  Fear  God,  read 
and  study  your  Bibles,  and  may  the  British  reign  over 
us  forever." 

Undoubtedly  that  speech  would  not  have  been  made 
but  for  the  faithful  work  of  Christian  missionaries  in 
more  than  one  generation,  but  undoubtedly  that  one 
speech  did  more  to  commend  the  Christian  Gospel  to 
the  Maori  people  than  a  thousand  missionary  sermons. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  this  union  of  the  East  and  the 
West  is  having  a  far-reaching  effect  in  the  matter  of 
overcoming  the  religious  antagonisms  which  have  long 
stood  in  the  way  of  Christian  conquest.  The  War  has 
removed  the  mountains  of  prejudice  and  filled  up  the 
valleys  of  ignorance.  It  has  prepared  the  way  of  the 
Lord.  :  A  missionary  quoted  in  the  London  Missionary 
Society  Chronicle,  spoke  of  having  nearly  a  dozen 
races  in  the  brigade  which  he  accompanied  to  France. 
''They  range,"  he  says,  ''from  the  restless  Afridis  of 
the  Northwest  Frontier  to  the  long-haired  Burmese,  the 
noisy  Hindu,  and  the  Moslem  of  historic  plains,  the 
aborigines  of  the  Indian  jungles,  the  Bengali  from  the 
steamy  swamps.  Christianized  tribes  from  Shillong, 
and  the  '  headhunters '  or  weird-looking  Nagas  from 
the  higher  mountains  of  Assam."  It  must  mean  much 
to  the  future  peace  and  welfare  of  India  that  so  many 
and  diverse  races  of  that  land  of  150  languages  are 
brought  within  one  camp  and  engaged  upon  one  task. 
How  much  more  does  it  mean  to  Christianity  that  their 
physical  and  mental  wants  are  being  ministered  to  by 
men  Hke  this  English  clergyman,  that  they  are  behold- 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     85 

ing  for  the  first  time  the  characteristic  institutions  of 
Christianity  —  the  church,  the  hospital,  the  school,  and 
the  home  —  and  that  everywhere  they  are  meeting 
with  a  friendly  and  appreciative  welcome  on  the  part 
of  the  people  of  Christ.  Prejudice  will  find  little  en- 
couragement under  conditions  like  these. 

Add  the  direct  efforts  of  multitudes  of  foreign  mis- 
sionaries and  Y  M  C  A  workers  who,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  their  organizations,  ministered  in  spiritual  as 
well  as  practical  ways  to  the  soldiers  of  Asia,  Africa, 
and  the  island  colonies.  The  sending  of  missionaries 
from  China  to  France  with  the  coolie  labor  battahon 
was  a  happy  inspiration  of  the  British  officials.  As  a 
war  measure  it  proved  to  be  an  agency  of  great  im- 
portance; as  a  Christian  measure  it  is  bound  to  be 
of  incalculable  worth.  These  missionaries  acted  as 
interpreters  between  the  officers  and  the  men;  they 
wrote  the  letters  of  the  men  to  their  families  in  Shan- 
tung and  Chihli;  they  helped  them  to  save  their  earn- 
ings; they  explained  what  the  War  was  about,  and 
how  vitally  it  bore  upon  the  welfare  of  their  own  land; 
they  cared  for  them  when  they  were  ill;  above  all  they 
led  many  of  them  to  Christ.  The  effect  this  is  likely 
to  have  upon  Western  opinion  of  the  Chinese  is  sug- 
gested by  a  letter  from  Captain  James  Cooper,  M.D., 
an  American  missionary  physician,  who  accompanied 
a  battalion  of  coolies  to  France  and  then  was  assigned 
to  the  general  medical  base  for  the  Chinese.  Dr. 
Cooper  sang  the  praises  of  his  men  in  a  way  that 
should  help  allay  prejudice  in  the  United  States: 

''My  friend  John  is  making  good  in  France.  He  is  a 
rebuke  to  the  slacker.     No  man  loves  his  home  more 


86  WORLD  FACTS 

than  he,  yet  he  has  crossed  two  oceans  and  a  continent 
to  help  win  the  war  in  the  interests  of  humanity. 
Many  who  scorn  him  sit  at  home  on  soft  cushions,  while 
he  sleeps  on  the  ground  at  night  and  works  hard  all 
day  pushing  ammunition  to  the  front.  He  has  been 
bombed,  gassed,  and  wounded  but  he  is  no  quitter. 
He  is  enduring  hardness  as  a  good  soldier.  He  works 
long  hours  and  is  reliable  and  cheerful.  He  is  giving 
satisfaction  and  is  hked  by  all  and  I  am  proud  to  be 
associated  with  him  here." 

Again,  one  of  the  mightiest  influences  in  favor  of  the 
Christian  religion  arose  from  the  conduct  of  the  Allied 
armies  which  penetrated  pagan  or  Mohammedan  ter- 
ritory. The  activities  of  the  Red  Cross  and  of  the 
army  hospital  have  borne  impressive  witness  to  the 
methods  of  Christian  warfare.  It  is  an  immense  gain 
that  through  the  Palestinian  expedition  the  stigma  of 
the  Crusades  is  now  removed,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
from  the  minds  of  Arabs  and  Turks.  When  Godfrey 
led  his  Christian  hosts  into  Jerusalem  in  1099  his  first 
act  was  to  put  ten  thousand  Saracens  to  the  sword  and 
to  burn  the  Jews  in  their  synagogues  in  which  they 
had  taken  refuge.  When  General  Allenby  entered 
Jerusalem,  Feb.  21,  1918,  he  issued  a  proclamation 
assuring  justice,  toleration,  and  protection  for  all 
classes.  He  placed  a  Moslem  guard  of  Indian  troops 
about  the  Mosque  of  Omar,  which  occupies  the  site  of 
Solomon's  Temple,  in  order  that  no  follower  of  Islam 
should  be  hindered  or  molested  in  his  worship.  Coin- 
cidently  good  government  was  set  up,  food  suppUes 
were  introduced,  the  streets  were  cleaned,  sanitary 
agencies  organized  a  campaign  against  cholera  and 
typhus  and  smallpox,  hospitals  were  erect  ed,and  in  a 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     87 

multitude  of  ways  the  inhabitants  were  given  a  taste  of 
present-day  Christian  administration  in  contrast  with 
700  years  of  Turkish  robbery  and  misrule. 

One  of  the  officers  in  General  AUenby's  army  was 
Rev.  Major  Isaac  Camp,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Turkey 
as  a  missionary  when  the  War  broke  out.  For  a  time 
he  served  as  MiUtary  Governor  of  Bethlehem,  which 
the  Turks  left  empty  of  food  and  full  of  disease. 
Camp's  work  was  to  clean  up  the  city,  introduce  food 
and  medicine,  and  in  every  way  possible  make  it  a  fit 
place  of  residence  and  worthy  of  its  sacred  associations. 
We  have  been  hving  through  days  when  the  mission- 
aries became  soldiers  and  the  soldiers  missionaries. 

Speaking  of  Palestine  and  the  prejudice  of  the 
Moslems,  what  must  they  be  saying  of  the  activities  of 
the  American  Red  Cross  Unit  which  sailed  from  New 
York  in  the  spring  of  1918,  and  which  worked  at  the 
side  of  the  British  forces  for  the  relief  of  the  civilian 
population  of  the  Holy  Land?  This  Unit,  adminis- 
tered by  the  Red  Cross,  but  supported  conjointly  by 
that  organization  and  the  American  Committee  for 
Armenian  and  Syrian  Rehef,  was  composed  of  some- 
thing over  fifty  people,  men  and  women,  representing 
various  lines  of  relief  and  practical  service  —  physicians, 
nurses,  sanitary  engineers,  social  workers,  clergymen. 
All  went  with  an  earnest  humanitarian  purpose,  nearly 
all  were  Christians,  ten  or  a  dozen  had  served  as  foreign 
missionaries  in  the  Levant,  and  there  was  one  mis- 
sionary secretary.  They  took  with  them  on  their  ship 
1000  tons  of  supplies  —  food,  medicine,  surgical  instru- 
ments, bandages,  and  soap  —  also  twelve  Ford  cars  and 
several  motor  trucks.     Someone  called  the  expedition 


88  WORLD  FACTS 

''The  Crusade  of  the  Good  Samaritans/'  and  many 
rejoiced  to  think  of  them  as  going  down  the  road  from 
Jerusalem  to  Jericho,  riding  over  the  highways  of  our 
Saviour's  country  —  not  on  donkeys  hke  the  Good 
Samaritan  of  old,  but  in  their  gasoline  cars,  dispensing 
their  suppHes  and  good  cheer  on  every  side.  Thank 
God  that  after  all  these  centuries  Palestine  has  come 
to  know  Christianity  of  the  New  Testament  brand! 

United  We  Stand 

The  substance  of  it  all  is  that,  in  the  Providence  of 
God,  this  war  which  has  brought  indescribable  woe 
upon  the  human  race  has  helped  wonderfully  to  estab- 
Ush  the  Kingdom  of  love,  joy,  and  peace.  Arbitrary 
racial  and  geographical  distinctions  are  giving  way,  a 
new  world  unity  emerges,  and  a  basis  for  brotherhood 
and  permanent  peace  is  being  laid. 

Three  of  our  modern  poets  have  forecasted  the  times 
in  which  we  Hve  in  a  way  to  command  the  attention  of 
the  world  —  Tennyson  with  his  "Locksley  Hall," 
Edwin  Markham  with  his  "Brotherhood"  and  "Desire 
of  the  Nations"  and  Walt  Whitman  with  his  "Years 
of  the  Modern."  Whitman's  lines  are  nobly  prophetic 
of  the  world  upon  which  we  look  out  today. 

Years  of  the  Modern 

(Written  in  1860) 

Years  of  the  modern!  years  of  the  unperform'd! 
Your  horizon  rises  —  I  see  it  parting  away  for  more 

august  dramas, 
I  see  not  America  only  —  not  only  Liberty's  nation  but 

other  nations  preparing. 


EAST  AND  WEST  IN  A  COMMON  CAUSE     89 

I  see  tremendous  entrances  and  exits  —  new  combina- 
tions —  I  see  the  solidarity  of  races ; 

I  see  that  force  advancing  with  irresistible  power  on  the 
world's  stage; 

(Have  the  old  forces,  the  old  wars,  played  their  parts? 
are  the  acts  suitable  to  them  closed  ?) 

I  see  Freedom,  completely  arm'd  and  victorious  and 
very  haughty,  with  Law  on  one  side  and  Peace  on 
the  other, 

A  stupendous  trio,  all  issuing  forth  against  the  idea  of 
caste; 

What  historic  denouements  are  these  we  so  rapidly 
approach  ? 

I  see  men  marching  and  countermarching  by  swift  mil- 
hons; 

I  see  the  frontiers  and  boundaries  of  the  old  aristoc- 
racies broken; 

I  see  the  landmarks  of  European  kings  removed; 

I  see  this  day  the  People  beginning  their  landmarks  (all 
others  give  way) ; 

Never  were  such  sharp  questions  ask'd  as  this  day; 

Never  was  average  man,  his  soul,  more  energetic,  more 
like  a  God; 

Lo,  how  he  urges  and  urges,  leaving  the  masses  no  rest! 

His  daring  foot  is  on  land  and  sea  everywhere  —  he 
colonizes  the  Pacific,  the  archipelagoes; 

With  the  steamship,  the  electric  telegraph,  the  news- 
paper, the  wholesale  engines  of  war, 

With  these,  and  the  world-spreading  factories,  he  inter- 
links all  geography,  all  lands; 

What  whispers  are  these,  0  lands,  running  ahead  of  you, 
passing  under  the  seas? 

Are  all  nations  communing?  is  there  going  to  be  but 
one  heart  to  the  globe  ? 

Is  humanity  forming,  en-masse  ?  for  lo !  tyrants  trem- 
ble, crowns  grow  dim; 

The  earth,  restive,  confronts  a  new  era,  perhaps  a 
general  divine  war; 


90  WORLD  FACTS 

No  one  knows  what  will  happen  next  —  such  portents 

fill  the  days  and  nights; 
Years  prophetical!    the  space  ahead  as  I  walk,  as  I 

vainly  try  to  pierce  it,  is  full  of  phantoms; 
Unborn  deeds,  things  soon  to  be,  project  their  shapes 

around  me; 
This  incredible  rush  and  heat,  this  strange  ecstatic 

fever  of  dreams,  0  years! 
Your  dreams,  O  year,  how  they  penetrate  through  me! 

(I  know  not  whether  I  sleep  or  wake!) 
The  performed  America  and  Europe  grow  dim,  retirin-g 

in  shadow  behind  me, 
The  unperformed,  more  gigantic  than  ever,  advance, 

advance  upon  me.^ 


2  Copyright  property.    Used  by  permission. 


FACT  V 

THE  EAST  LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  FOR  EXAMPLE 
AND  HELP 

"O  God,  make  China  like  the  United  States,"  was 
the  prayer  of  a  Chinese  official  in  a  recent  Christian 
assembly.  What  thoughts,  what  feelings  does  that 
petition,  winging  its  way  from  the  other  side  of  the 
world,  awaken  in  our  minds?  How  do  we  want  it 
answered?  Do  we  want  it  answered  at  all?  Do  we 
care  to  have  China  like  the  United  States  in  view  of 
the  poUtical  corruption,  the  commercial  greed,  the 
class  exclusiveness  which  prevail  to  such  a  sad  extent 
in  our  American  life?  Do  we  wish  China  to  have  our 
ward-bosses,  our  vulgar  display  of  wealth,  our  violent 
strikes,  our  tenement-house  abuses,  our  red-light  dis- 
tricts, our  corner  saloons,  our  lynchings,  our  tobacco 
habit,  our  Sabbath  desecration?  Are  there  other 
things  in  American  life  which  we  can  give  to  China  and 
which  will  offset  such  evils  ? 

Perhaps  our  answer  will  be  different  from  what  it 
would  have  been  a  few  years  ago,  especially  since  we 
have  decided  to  cross  off  the  saloon  from  the  list. 
In  any  event  we  are  profoundly  moved  that  such  a 
prayer  should  have  been  offered.  That  China,  hoary 
with  age  and  claiming  one-quarter  of  the  earth's  popu- 
lation, should  long  to  share  in  the  Ufe  of  our  lusty 
young  repubUc,  that  she  sees  so  much  good  in  us  as  to 

91 


92  WORLD  FACTS 

overlook  the  evil  —  the  pathos  of  the  thing  goes  to  our 
hearts;  it  stirs  strange  thoughts. 

China's  Friendship  Sincere 

In  the  year  1852  William  H.  Seward  delivered  a 
speech  in  the  United  States  Senate  which  contained  this 
remarkable  forecast  of  American  influence  in  the  Far 
East: 

''Even  the  discovery  of  this  continent  and  its  islands, 
and  the  organization  of  society  and  government  upon 
them,  grand  and  important  as  these  events  have  been, 
were  but  conditional,  preliminary,  and  ancillary  to  the 
more  subHme  result  now  in  the  act  of  consummation  — 
the  reunion  of  the  two  civilizations,  which,  parting  on 
the  plains  of  Asia  four  thousand  years  ago,  and  travel- 
ing ever  after  in  opposite  directions  around  the  world, 
now  meet  again  on  the  coasts  and  islands  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Certainly  no  mere  human  event  of  equal 
dignity  and  importance  has  ever  occurred  upon  the 
earth.  It  will  be  followed  by  the  equalization  of  the 
condition  of  society  and  the  restoration  of  the  unity 
of  the  human  family.  Who  does  not  see  that  hence- 
forth every  year  European  commerce,  European  pohtics, 
European  thoughts,  and  European  activity,  although 
actually  gaining  greater  force,  and  European  connec- 
tions, although  actually  becoming  more  intimate,  will 
nevertheless  ultimately  sink  in  importance;  while  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  its  shores,  its  islands,  and  the  vast 
regions  beyond,  will  become  the  chief  theater  of  events 
in  the  world's  great  hereafter?  Who  does  not  see  that 
this  movement  must  effect  our  own  complete  emancipa- 
tion from  what  remains  of  European  influence  and 
prejudice,  and  in  turn  develop  the  American  opinion 
and  influence  which  shall  remould  constitutional  laws 
and  customs  in  the  land  that  is  first  greeted  by  the 
rising  sun?" 


THE  EAST  LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  93 

The  consideration  which  drew  forth  these  words  was 
not  any  proposed  treaty  or  alUance  with  an  Oriental 
Power,  but  the  conviction  on  Mr.  Seward's  part  that 
the  time  had  come  for  the  United  States  to  undertake  a 
complete  and  accurate  survey  of  the  North  Pacific 
Ocean.  Mr.  Seward  revealed  the  breadth  of  his  mind 
and  his  firm  grasp  upon  ultimate  principles  when  he 
urged  the  expansion  of  our  commerce  for  the  sake  of 
the  larger  gains  of  the  race.  It  is  a  cause  for  national 
thanksgiving  that,  notwithstanding  our  provincialism, 
in  each  period  of  our  history  we  have  been  able  to  claim 
at  least  one  statesman  of  Mr.  Seward's  cahber  and 
prescience.  China  is  a  republic  today  because  such 
men  as  Washington,  Webster,  Seward,  Lincoln,  and 
Hay  have  directed  our  thoughts  toward  the  world 
aspects  of  our  civilization.  No  wonder  the  East  is 
interested  in  America.  No  wonder  American  travelers 
find  pictures  of  Washington  and  Lincoln  hanging  in 
Chinese  homes. 

As  far  back  as  1858  a  Chinese  scholar,  by  the  name 
of  Sen  Ki-Yu,  wrote  a  book  for  the  purpose  of  stimu- 
lating his  people  to  broader  views,  in  which  he  paid 
tliis  tribute  to  George  Washington: 

"Surely  Washington  was  an  extraordinary  man. 
His  successes  as  a  soldier  were  more  rapid  than  those 
of  Sheng  and  Kuang,  and  in  personal  courage  he  was 
superior  to  Tsao-pi  and  Liu-pang.  With  the  two- 
edged  sword  (of  justice)  he  established  the  tranquil- 
Hty  of  the  country  over  an  area  of  several  thousand 
miles.  He  refused  to  receive  pecuniary  recompense. 
He  labored  to  rear  an  elective  system  of  government. 
Patriotism  hke  this  is  to  be  commended  under  the  whole 
heavens.    Truly  it  reminds  us  of  our  own  three  ancient 


94  WORLD  FACTS 

dynasties!  In  administering  the  government  he  fos- 
tered virtue,  he  avoided  war,  and  he  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing his  country  superior  to  all  other  nations.  I  have 
seen  his  portrait.  His  countenance  exhibits  great  men- 
tal power.  Who  must  not  concede  to  him  the  char- 
acter of  an  extraordinary  man  ?  " 

It  is  gratifying  to  learn  that  our  Government,  when 
its  attention  was  called  to  this  remarkable  tribute, 
ordered  the  making  of  a  fine  portrait  of  Washington 
which  it  sent  as  a  gift  to  Sen  Ki-Yu.  China's  interest 
in  America  is  not  of  recent  growth.  Anson  Burlin- 
game,  the  greatest  diplomat  our  country  has  sent  to 
the  East,  reached  Peking  in  1861  and  so  completely 
and  speedily  did  he  gain  the  confidence  of  the  govern- 
ment officials  that  China's  friendship  for  America  may 
be  said  to  date  from  that  event.  It  was  in  1870  that 
Chinese  students  began  to  come  to  the  United  States 
under  the  care  of  Yung  Wing,  whose  admiration  for 
everything  American  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he 
married  an  American  wife. 

From  that  year  until  now  the  Chinese  have  been 
''fed  up"  on  stories  of  America  as  the  land  of  freedom 
and  friendship.  During  all  those  years  knowledge  of 
us  and  our  ways  was  quietly  spreading  until  there  came 
to  exist  among  the  better  educated  of  the  people  an 
intelligent  and  genuine  affection  for  American  ideals 
and  institutions.  Gradually  there  arose  the  hope  that 
China  herself  might  become  free,  that  some  day  she 
might  claim  to  be  the  United  States  of  the  Asiatic 
continent.  The  revolution  in  1911-1912  was  but  the 
coming  to  the  surface  of  these  aspirations.  The  move- 
ment seemed  to  spring  from  the  ground.     It  caused 


THE  EAST  LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  95 

America  to  wonder  and  Europe  to  fume;  but  to  the 
progressive  Chinese  it  was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the 
world.  They  wanted  the  latest  and  the  best,  and  that 
meant  America. 

Since  the  original  step  two  counter-revolutions  have 
been  attempted,  each  with  imperiaUstic  aims;  one 
was  engineered  by  the  great  Yuan  Shih  Kai.  Both 
having  failed  miserably,  we  find  China  fairly  well 
settled  in  her  repubhcan  ways.  She  speaks  of  us  as 
''Our  Sister  Republic  across  the  seas." 

Along  with  our  governmental  structure  goes  pretty 
much  our  entire  scheme  of  Hfe  —  railroads,  schools, 
banks,  commercial  systems,  social  ideals.  No  wonder 
the  European  states  are  anxious  for  their  Chinese  trade. 
Some  of  them,  unable  to  account  for  such  a  partiality 
for  things  American,  accuse  our  diplomats  of  undue 
influence.  German  agents  have  even  charged  com- 
plicity between  our  Government  and  the  American 
missionaries,  asserting  that  the  missionaries  receive 
secret  instructions  from  Washington  to  work  for  pref- 
erential arrangements  in  trade.  The  Chinese  laugh 
at  all  this;  but  they  keep  on  praying,  ^'0  God,  make 
China  hke  the  United  States." 

Japan  and  the  United  States 

How  is  it  with  Japan  ?  Just  now  it  is  fashionable  in 
certain  quarters  to  suspect  Japan's  friendship  for  the 
United  States.  Yet  those  who  are  in  a  position  to 
know  the  facts,  and  especially  those  who  understand 
the  Japanese  people,  maintain  that  Japan's  gratitude 
and  admiration  for  America  is  no  less  today  than  when 
she  was  seeking  our  help  in  the  matter  of  readjusting 


96  WORLD  FACTS 

her  life  to  Western  standards  and  ways.  There  is  no 
better  authority  on  this  subject  than  Dr.  .Sidney  L. 
GuUck,  who  has  served  for  twenty-six  years  as  a  mission- 
ary and  educator  in  Japan,  and  is  now  connected  with 
the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America.  Dr.  Gulick  does  not  ignore  the  strained 
relations  between  Japan  and  the  United  States,  which 
arose  over  the  immigration  and  land  questions  a  few 
years  ago,  and  which  reached  a  climax  in  1913.  The 
result  of  his  intimate  study  of  the  problem  in  all  its 
phases  is  a  comprehensive  plan  which  would  limit  the 
immigration  to  the  United  States  from  any  country,  in 
a  given  year,  to  a  certain  percentage,  say  five  per  cent, 
of  the  persons  who  have  already  been  naturalized  from 
that  country.  This,  he  argues,  would  place  Japan 
upon  the  same  basis  as  Great  Britain,  Italy,  Russia,  or 
any  other  power;  it  would  do  away  with  the  discrim- 
ination incident  to  the  present  arrangement  and  which 
proves  so  offensive  to  the  Japanese.  The  Gulick  plan 
would  automatically  limit  the  number  of  Japanese 
coming  to  our  shores  for  permanent  residence  to  a  very 
small  portion  —  really  a  negligible  quantity.  It  would 
at  the  same  time  meet  all  American  objections  and 
satisfy  Japanese  sensibilities. 

If  this  plan  can  be  put  into  effect  through  a  revision 
of  our  immigration  laws,  it  will  be  a  long  step  in  the 
direction  of  confirming  Japan's  natural  admiration  for 
the  American  nation.  As  to  the  existence  of  a  sincere 
regard  for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  Dr.  Gulick 
leaves  us  in  no  doubt.  During  these  years  of  diplo- 
matic strain  no  event,  he  holds,  has  undermined  the 
fundamental  friendship   which   dates  from  the  time 


THE  EAST  LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  97 

when  Commodore  Perry  introduced  Japan  to  the  world. 
It  is  an  evidence  of  good  feehng  as  well  as  of  good  faith 
on  the  part  of  the  Japanese  that  they  enter  into  "sl 
gentleman's  agreement"  over  a  matter  which  a  sensi- 
tive and  self-respecting  country,  intent  upon  standing 
upon  its  rights,  might  easily  insist  should  rest  upon  the 
sohd  basis  of  a  treaty.^ 

As  for  the  people  of  Japan,  in  distinction  from  their 
Government,  it  is  reassuring  to  find  that  they  do  not 
propose  to  be  outdone  by  the  Cliinese  in  their  admira- 
tion for  statesmen  like  Washington  and  Lincoln.  Dr. 
Arthur  H.  Smith  quotes  from  a  Japanese  paper  which 
states  that  in  a  popular  vote  of  the  pupils  in  one  of 
their  schools  as  to  their  favorite  hero,  Washington 
received  a  few  more  than  sixty  votes  and  Lincoln 
almost  as  many,  while  the  great  Japanese  war  hero 
Admiral  Togo,  did  not  rise  to  forty  ballots.  A  mis- 
sionary from  Japan  cites  the  case  of  a  primary  school 
which  voted  almost  solidly  to  have  Lincoln's  picture 
hung  on  its  walls  as  its  favorite  hero.  Dr.  Guhck 
writes  to  the  same  effect,  '^A  few  years  ago,"  he  says, 
''inquiry  was  made  in  Japan  as  to  the  effect  on  Japan- 
ese students  of  their  life  in  the  various  lands.  The 
opinion  of  educators  was  unanimous  that  those  who 
studied  in  Europe  returned  to  Japan  confirmed  in  their 
patriotism  and  highly  critical  of  other  lands,  while  those 
who  had  studied  in  America  were  highly  critical  of  Japan 
and  laudatory  of  America.     So  pronounced  was  this 

1  The  full  discussion  of  this  most  important  subject  is  found 
in  the  following  books  by  Dr.  Sidney  L.  Guhck:  "America  and 
the  Orient";  "Amxerican  Diplomacy  and  Asiatic  Citizenship"; 
"The  American  Japanese  Problem." 


98  WORLD  FACTS 

difference  that  narrow-minded  Japanese  dissuade 
students  from  going  to  America  lest  they  lose  their 
Japanese  patriotism." 

Dr.  Dan  jo  Ebina,  the  scholarly  preacher  of  Tokio, 
recently  addressed  a  deputation  of  American  Christians 
in  these  words:  ''After  the  War,  Japan  must  act  upon 
the  world's  stage;  must  forsake  the  imperialism  and 
the  nationahsm  of  the  past,  and  adopt  cosmopohtanism 
and  awake  to  the  world's  consciousness.  We  Chris- 
tians must  act  together  with  the  United  States  of 
America,  pohtically  and  spiritually.  We  need  the  help 
of  the  Americans  to  make  our  people  come  to  the 
world  consciousness." 

American  Prestige  in  the  Near  East 

When  we  pass  to  the  other  peoples  of  Asia,  we  find 
the  attitude  towards  America  varying  somewhat  with 
the  friendliness  or  hostiUty  of  the  governing  class. 
Turkey,  so  far  as  she  is  represented  by  the  officials, 
has  felt  no  love  for  America.  For  prudential  reasons 
they  have  protected  American  merchants  and  mission- 
aries and  even  granted  a  measure  of  religious  and 
educational  toleration,  but  in  their  hearts  they  have 
abhorred  the  Yankee  and  all  his  ways.  Let  this  be 
said  to  our  credit.  As  for  the  nation  at  large,  America 
should  know  that  fully  eighty  per  cent  of  the  people 
regard  us  with  kindly  feelings.  This  is  especially  true 
of  the  peasants  in  the  villages,  many  of  whom  not  only 
did  not  approve  the  massacring  and  deportation  of  the 
Armenians,  but  actually  sheltered  the  refugees  in  their 
homes.  It  has  not  been  in  vain  that  American  mis- 
sionaries have  lived  in  their  midst  these  many  years  and 


THE  EAST   LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  99 

extended  to  them  the  friendly  ministry  of  their  hospitals 
and  schools.  The  winning  of  these  people  by  tactful, 
kindly  approaches,  now  that  the  whole  Turkish  nation 
is  in  a  humble  state  of  mind,  is  one  of  the  challenging 
tasks  before  American  Christianity. 

Turkey,  as  represented  by  what  were  the  subject 
races,  especially  the  Armenians  and  Syrians,  holds 
America  in  almost  passionate  regard.  They  send 
their  children  to  the  American  schools,  which  have  been 
in  their  midst  for  nearly  a  hundred  years.  Thousands 
of  their  enterprising  young  men  have  emigrated  to 
America.  During  these  years  of  war,  when  they  have 
suffered  more  than  any  peoples  of  modern  times, 
possibly  more  than  any  people  in  history,  they  have 
been  upheld  by  the  hope  that  American  democracy 
might  be  estabUshed  in  their  midst.  Now  that  the 
pohtical  power  of  Turkey  has  been  crushed,  these 
people  ask  that  the  United  States  shall  be  designated  as 
the  protecting  and  guiding  power  over  them,  until 
such  time  as  they  shall  come  to  autonomy  and  in- 
dependence. 

If  we  may  regard  Russia  as  essentially  Asiatic,  there 
is  special  significance  in  the  friendly  attitude  of  her 
masses.  Mr.  WilUam  T.  Elhs,  who  has  made  extensive 
investigations  on  the  ground,  states  that  the  anti- 
American  propaganda  of  the  Bolsheviks  was  a  complete 
failure.  He  maintains,  ''There  is  no  Russian  peasant 
so  remote  or  benighted  that  he  has  not  heard  of  the 
great  Western  land  of  freedom  which  tries  to  be  brother 
and  friend  to  every  other  nation."  He  adds,  ''We 
are  now  drawing  interest  on  our  famine  ships  of  a  gen- 
eration ago,  and  upon  all  our  ministry  to  other  stricken 


100  WORLD  FACTS 

people  and  our  welcome  to  immigrants  and  our  far- 
carried  ideas  of  democracy."  It  is  to  the  credit  of 
American  business  enterprise  that  our  plows,  our  har- 
rows, our  self-binders  and  reapers,  and  our  agricultural 
instruments  generally  are  found  throughout  the  Rus- 
sian provinces,  where  they  preach  the  gospel  of  efficiency 
and  success  in  a  language  which  the  most  ignorant 
peasant  can  understand. 

In  India,  America  may  not  hope  to  compete  with 
Great  Britain  for  the  affection  of  the  people.  When 
Home  Rule  is  granted,  the  ties  which  bind  the  mother- 
land to  her  greatest  dependency  will  be  stronger  than 
ever.  Into  this  peculiar  relationship  we  may  not 
seek  to  come.  At  the  same  time,  as  the  Indians  be- 
come better  acquainted  with  us  and  our  ways,  and  par- 
ticularly as  they  break  away  from  caste  and  begin  to 
travel  in  foreign  lands,  they  will  be  turning  with  in- 
creasing favor  to  the  free  and  generous  people  of  the 
United  States.  Already  there  are  signs  pointing  in 
that  direction.  Recently  an  American  traveler  was 
asked  to  deliver  a  religious  lecture  before  the  students 
of  a  prominent  college  in  North  India.  At  the  close 
he  invited  the  students  to  tarry  and  ask  questions. 
An  eager  throng  pressed  around  him  and  when  he  was 
expecting  some  challenging  questions  as  to  Christian 
theology  or  ethics,  he  was  surprised  to  hear  them  one 
and  all  inquire,  '^How  can  I  get  to  America?"  In 
other  parts  of  India  he  had  similar  experiences.  Evi- 
dently Oxford  is  not  the  only  place  where  Indian 
young  men  seek  to  finish  off  their  training.  The 
amusing  side  of  the  matter  is  suggested  by  a  story 
told  by  the  late  Dr.  J.  P.  Jones.    As  he  was  about  to 


THE  EAST  LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  101 

leave  India  he  offered  some  of  his  goods  for  sale,  araong 
them  a  chest  of  tools.  A  certain  rusty  hammer  was 
purchased  by  a  Hindu  carpenter,  who  bore  it  off  with 
great  pride.  The  next  day  he  returned  the  hanmier 
and  demanded  his  money.  He  had  taken  pains  to 
scour  off  the  rust,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  manu- 
facturer's name,  and  there  cut  into  the  metal  he  had 
found  the  words  ''Made  in  Germany."  ''I  want  no 
German  hammer,"  he  remarked;  ''I  want  my  tools 
'Made  in  America.' " 

Causes  of  American  Popularity 

In  the  foregoing  discussion  fact  and  cause  have  gone 
hand  in  hand,  the  one  suggesting  the  other.  But  the 
full  significance  of  the  East's  partiahty  for  America 
can  best  be  appreciated  in  the  hght  of  considerations 
which  have  made  such  an  attitude  inevitable.  Of 
these  three  stand  out  with  a  good  deal  of  distinctness. 

1.  America  the  Land  of  Promise.  Throughout  the 
world  America  spells  opportunity,  plenty,  and  freedom. 
Practically  every  foreigner  who  comes  to  our  shores 
returns  a  herald  of  a  new  dawn  for  the  poor  and  op- 
pressed of  his  own  people.  Particularly  do  we  profit 
from  the  enthusiasm  of  returning  students.  A  recent 
tabulation  shows  that  about  1,400  Chinese,  1,000 
Japanese,  200  Korean,  300  FiUpino,  150  East  Indian, 
2,000  Latin  American,  and  200  Armenian  young  men 
and  women  are  now  pursuing  studies  in  the  United 
States.  The  period  of  study  varies  from  one  to  eight 
years.  Nearly  all  of  these  expect  to  return  to  their 
native  land.  Each  will  become  a  missionary  of  Am- 
erican culture  and  trade.     This  process  has  been  going 


102  WORLD  FACTS 

on  for  decades  and  accounts  for  the  predisposition  in 
our  favor  found  in  so  many  out-of-the-way  places  in 
the  world. 

2.  The  American  Record  in  Diplomacy.  The  Eng- 
Hsh  historian  Creasy,  author  of  ''The  Fifteen  Decisive 
Battles  of  the  World/'  prophesied  that  Japan  would  be 
opened  by  the  United  States,  but  that  the  world  might 
expect  a  policy  on  our  part  which  he  characterized  as 
''bold,  intrusive,  unscrupulous.''  The  forecasting  of 
this  event  was  soon  confirmed,  but  Creasy' s  character- 
ization of  our  spirit  proved  to  be  far  from  the  truth. 
The  record  of  American  deaUngs  with  Oriental  coun- 
tries is  one  of  the  most  honorable  chapters  in  human 
history.  No  one  can  read  such  books  as  John  W. 
Foster's  "American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient"  and 
John  Bassett  Moore's  "The  Development  of  American 
Diplomacy"  without  a  feeling  of  justifiable  pride  in  his 
country.  The  record  is  not  paralleled  on  the  part  of 
Great  Britain  or  any  other  nation. 

Dr.  Gulick  pays  high  tribute  to  America's  honorable 
treatment  of  Japan  up  to  the  time  of  the  immigration 
troubles.  The  consistency  of  our  early  record,  he 
holds,  accounts  largely  for  Japan's  unswerving  belief 
in  our  fundamental  integrity  and  friendhness.  Count 
Okuma,  Japan's  "Grand  Old  Man,"  speaks  warmly 
and  specifically  on  the  same  subject.  He  quotes 
Saburo  Shimada,  a  Member  of  Parliament,  as  saying, 
"The  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  intercourse  and  com- 
merce between  Japan  and  the  United  States  marked  a 
new  era  in  our  history,  and  paved  the  way  for  our 
present  position  among  the  Great  Powers  of  the 
World."     Whatever  may  happen  to  mar  our  relations 


THE  EAST  LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  103 

with  Japan  there  can  be  no  blotting  out  of  that  un- 
interrupted record  of  friendhness,  beginning  with  the 
opening  of  the  Japanese  ports  by  Commodore  Perry  in 
1853  and  continuing  down  to  President  Roosevelt's 
intervention  between  Japan  and  Russia  and  the  Ports- 
mouth Treaty  of  1905. 

It  is  when  we  come  to  our  deaUngs  with  China  that  we 
find  the  best  evidence  of  American  sincerity  and 
friendhness  towards  the  weaker  powers.  The  record 
begins  with  the  treaty  of  1844,  which  estabhshed  the 
legal  status  of  Americans  in  China  and  placed  the  two 
countries  on  an  avowed  basis  of  friendship  and  mutual 
helpfulness. 

Caleb  Cushing,  our  first  minister  to  China,  revealed 
the  nobility  of  his  character  when  he  introduced  into 
the  treaty  a  clause  prohibiting  all  traffic  in  opium  be- 
tween the  two  countries.  No  other  nation  took  such 
action.  In  fact  this  treaty  was  ratified  only  four  years 
after  the  ''Opium  War,"  waged  by  England,  which 
resulted  in  the  forcing  of  the  ''flood  of  poison"  upon 
China's  helpless  milhons.  In  the  treaty  of  1880,  the 
opium  agreement  was  made  even  more  stringent  and 
binding,  while  in  1908  America  took  the  initiative, 
calhng  together  the  Opium  Commission,  which  repre- 
sented the  leading  nations,  to  assist  China  in  her  great 
moral  battle.  When  in  1917  the  long  struggle  was 
ended  and  the  last  ounce  of  opium  had  been  sold, 
America's  rejoicing  was  hearty  and  sincere.  Now 
that  England  has  freed  herself  from  comphcity  in  this 
infamy,  it  will  not  be  unfair  to  quote  what  China's 
greatest  statesman,  Li  Hung  Chang  said  on  the  subject. 
Of  England's  attitude  he  remarked,  "Opium  is  a  sub- 


104  WORLD  FACTS 

ject  in  the  discussion  of  which  England  and  China  can 
never  meet  on  common  ground." 

A  similar  good  turn  was  rendered  China  by  the 
United  States  in  the  matter  of  the  abohtion  of  the 
coohe  trade,  a  form  of  labor  indenture  httle  better 
than  African  slavery.  This  hes  so  far  back  in  the 
record  that  most  Americans  have  no  knowledge  of  the 
fact,  but  the  Chinese  do  not  forget. 

The  greatest  service  of  all  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  was  the  prevention  of  the  partition  of  China 
among  the  Powers  and  the  preservation  of  her  sover- 
eignty at  the  instance  of  John  Hay.  Beyond  any 
question  China  owes  the  integrity  of  her  territory  to 
the  friendliness  and  courage  of  American  diplomats. 
America  alone  showed  sjnupathy  for  the  underlying 
patriotic  motives  which  gave  rise  to  the  misdirected 
and  disastrous  Boxer  uprising  of  1900.  ''Reduced  to 
its  lowest  terms,"  says  an  American  missionary,  'Hhe 
Boxer  movement  was  simply  a  protracted  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  Chinese  people  to  stop  the  appropriation  of 
Cliinese  territory  by  the  European  nations." 

It  will  be  recalled  that  in  the  years  just  preceding 
1900  France  had  seized  a  great  slice  of  Southeastern 
China,  Germany  had  grabbed  the  peninsula  of  Kao- 
chao,  England  had  helped  herself  to  Wei  Hai  Wei  and 
Russia  had  taken  possession  of  Port  Arthur,  which 
commands  the  entrance  in  both  directions  to  North- 
east Asia.  Take  a  look  at  the  map  and  see  what  this 
meant  to  China.  The  Chinese  understood  that 
Europe,  having  completed  the  partition  of  Africa,  was 
now  turning  to  China,  whose  unUmited  natural  re- 
sources  and   vast   population   filled   her   lustful   eye. 


THE  EAST  LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  105 

They  observed  that  no  occasion  for  taking  advantage 
of  China  in  her  helplessness  was  passed  by,  no  pretext 
overlooked.  There  were  two  favorite  methods,  as  the 
Chinese  viewed  the  matter  —  ''annexation  by  rail- 
roads and  annexation  by  missionaries."  The  latter 
refers  to  Germany's  seizing  Kiao-chao  as  indemnity 
for  the  kilUng  by  a  Chinese  mob  of  two  German 
Catholic  missionaries,  who,  with  gross  disregard  for 
native  sensibihties  and  Christian  proprieties,  were 
carrying  on  their  propaganda  close  to  the  tomb  of 
Confucius. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  unseemly  scramble  that 
John  Hay,  "the  Golden  Rule  Secretary  of  State," 
appeared  with  his  poUcy  of  territorial  integrity  and 
the  ''Open  Door"  for  trade.  In  spite  of  the  bluster- 
ing of  the  European  powers,  Hay  carried  his  point  and 
China  was  saved  from  extinction. 

The  matter  of  the  indemnities  for  the  Boxer  out- 
rages is  fresh  in  our  minds.  In  the  negotiations  of  1901 
our  Government  took  a  stand  for  strict  justice,  charg- 
ing the  Chinese  only  for  what  appeared  to  be  the  actual 
loss  of  property  and  Hfe.  The  other  Powers,  conspir- 
ing together,  imposed  indemnities  amounting  to 
$350,000,000  and  arranged  the  collections  in  such  a 
system  of  delayed  payments  and  compound  interest 
that  when  China  shall  have  made  the  last  of  these 
remittances  in  1930  she  will  have  turned  into  the 
treasuries  of  the  Western  nations  the  enormous  sum  of 
$630,000,000. 

The  flagrant  injustice  involved  was  revealed  by 
Russia's  demand  for  twenty-nine  per  cent  of  the  whole, 
on  the  ground  of  having  sent   125,000  troops  into 


106  WORLD  FACTS 

Chinese  territory,  whereas  there  were  just  seventy- 
five  Russian  soldiers  at  the  siege  of  Peking,  the  balance 
having  been  disposed  in  Manchuria  in  the  hope  of 
detaching  that  great  province  and  annexing  it  to 
Siberia.  The  United  States  minister,  Mr.  Conger,  in 
the  name  of  his  Government  protested  against  this 
poUcy  of  loot,  but  in  vain.  In  their  humiliation  the 
Chinese  looked  on  and  resolved  not  to  forget. 

The  honorable  record  in  connection  with  the  in- 
demnities was  completed  by  the  repayment  to  China 
by  the  United  States  of  the  unexpended  balance, 
which  amounted  to  about  $12,000,000.  We  owe  it 
largely  to  the  suggestion  of  an  American  missionary. 
Rev.  Arthur  Smith,  D.D.,  that  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment agreed  to  set  apart  this  sum  for  the  education  of 
Chinese  youth  in  the  United  States.  When  Dr. 
Smith  outlined  the  scheme  to  President  Roosevelt  in 
the  winter  of  1906,  the  President,  in  characteristic 
fashion,  broke  in  after  he  had  spoken  a  few  minutes 
and  exclaimed,  ''I  entirely  agree  with  you.  Dr.  Smith. 
I  will  see  that  this  plan  is  carried  out." 

Many  other  acts  might  be  cited,  such  as  the  per- 
suading of  Russia  and  Japan  to  regard  the  neutrahty  of 
China  proper  in  the  war  of  1904;  President  Roose- 
velt's securing  of  peace  between  Russia  and  Japan  with 
the  return  of  Manchuria  to  China  in  1905;  the  Am- 
erican Red  Cross  relief  during  the  famine  of  1907,  out- 
stripping all  other  funds  in  generosity;  the  prompt 
recognition  of  the  Chinese  Republic  in  1913,  America 
being  the  first  nation  to  take  that  step.  Americans 
have  no  cause  to  blush  over  the  Chinese  page  in  our 
diplomatic  history. 


THE  EAST  LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  107 

From  the  Chinese  point  of  view  the  only  break  in 
the  long  and  honorable  record  is  the  exclusion  of  their 
emigrants  from  our  shores.  This  they  overlook  in 
view  of  the  complexity  of  the  problem  on  our  side,  and 
the  proved  friendship  of  the  United  States  through  all 
these  years.  They  have  shown  their  appreciation  in 
many  ways,  in  none  more  than  by  the  appointment  in 
1868  of  our  minister  Anson  Burlingame  as  China's 
ambassador  general  to  all  the  Western  nations,  with 
plenipotentiary  powers  to  revise  treaties  and  attend  to 
all  questions  pending  at  that  time.  Of  this  act  Bishop 
Bashford  remarks,  ^'No  higher  proof  of  the  confidence 
of  the  Chinese  nation  was  ever  given  to  a  foreign 
resident." 

Another  sign  of  China's  regard  is  the  sending  of  an 
increasing  number  of  her  students  to  our  colleges  and 
universities  in  the  expectation  that  they  will  return 
and  apply  at  home  the  lessons  in  civilization  they  have 
learned  in  our  midst.  Attention  has  been  called  to 
America's  friendly  and  helpful  reception  of  these 
young  Orientals,  in  contrast  with  Japan's  utter  failure 
to  equip  Chinese  students  either  intellectually  or 
morally  for  their  teaching  work  at  home. 

3.  The  Influence  of  American  Missionaries.  When 
Caleb  Cushing  was  negotiating  the  treaty  of  1843,  he 
had  as  secretaries  of  his  legation  Rev.  E.  C.  Bridgman 
and  Dr.  Peter  Parker,  missionaries  of  the  American 
Board  in  Canton.  This  was  the  famous  Dr.  Parker, 
of  whom  it  was  said,  ''He  opened  China  at  the  point 
of  the  lancet."  When  Commodore  Perry  needed  an 
interpreter  for  his  historic  mission  to  Japan,  he  turned 
to  Mr.  S.  Wells  WiUiams,  the  missionary  and  expert  in 


108  WORLD  FACTS 

Oriental  languages,  the  maker  of  China's  first  diction- 
ary. Later  on  Mr.  WilUams  served  for  twenty-eight 
years  as  secretary  of  the  United  States  legation  at 
Peking.  When  China,  desiring  to  understand  the 
ways  of  the  Western  world,  was  in  need  of  treatises  on 
international  law,  it  was  a  Presbyterian  missionary. 
Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  who  translated  into  Mandarin 
^'Wheaton's  International  Law,"  and  the  ''Guide 
Diplomatique"  of  the  French. 

A  few  years  ago  Professor  Ross,  of  Wisconsin  Uni- 
versity, visited  China  in  order  to  gather  material  for 
that  delightful  book,  ''The  Changing  Chinese."  He 
started  out  with  the  determination  to  have  as  few 
deahngs  as  possible  with  the  missionaries,  under  the 
notion  that  they  were  too  prejudiced  to  furnish  reliable 
information.  Before  he  had  been  in  China  many 
weeks  he  found  that  the  missionaries  were  the  only 
foreigners  who  understood  the  people  and  who  could 
furnish  full  and  accurate  data  as  to  social  and  pubUc 
conditions.  His  book  contains  hearty  admission  of 
his  changed  attitude.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Mr. 
Tyler  Dennett,  who,  in  his  study  of  political  develop- 
ments in  the  Far  East,  found  the  missionaries  to  be 
indispensable  as  a  source  of  reliable  information,  and 
who  makes  generous  recognition  of  his  indebtedness  to 
them  in  his  book,  "  The  Democratic  Movement  in 
Asia." 

It  has  not  been  in  vain  that  the  American  churches 
have  been  sending  men  of  apostolic  spirit  and  breadth 
into  the  Orient  for  these  one  hundred  years.  Wherever 
they  have  gone  —  to  India,  Burma,  Siam,  China,  Japan, 
Korea,  Syria,  Turkey,  Persia  —  they  have  carried  a 


THE  EAST  LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  109 

double  gospel,  the  Gospel  of  God's  redemption  in 
Christ  and  the  gospel  of  America's  friendship  for  the 
oppressed.  Scrupulously  avoiding  pohtical  propa- 
ganda, they  have  done  more  to  commend  the  ideals  of 
democracy  than  all  other  agencies  combined.  Had 
they  accomplished  nothing  but  the  estabhshment  of 
free  schools  throughout  the  Orient,  they  would  have 
released  a  power  mighty  enough  to  transform  society. 
Look  at  their  higher  institutions  of  learning:  Robert 
College,  on  the  Bosphorus;  the  Syrian  Protestant 
College,  at  Beirut;  the  Assiut  College  in  Egypt;  the 
Forman  Christian  College  and  the  Isabella  Thoburn 
College,  in  Northern  India;  the  Canton  Christian  Col- 
lege, and  St.  John's  College  in  China;  SilUman  Institute 
in  the  Philippines ;  the  Doshisha  in  Japan ;  'and  scores  of 
others,  each  a  center  of  light  and  power  for  an  immense 
population.  Consider  the  vast  array  of  lower  schools, 
gathered  about  the  colleges  and  universities  as  feeders, 
which  spread  intelligence  through  the  cities  and  villages 
of  each  land.  We  have  to  do  here  with  a  force  of  in- 
calculable effect. 

Scattered  even  more  widely  are  the  churches  and  the 
residences  of  the  missionaries,  each  an  exemplar  of 
American  culture  and  hfe.  Some  one  has  said  that  the 
basis  of  trade  is  friendship.  Surely  friendship  char- 
acterizes the  missionary  in  all  his  dealings  with  the 
people.  Living  in  their  midst,  speaking  their  tongue, 
understanding  their  ways,  sympathizing  with  their 
point  of  view,  championing  their  rights,  he  exerts  an 
influence  far  beyond  that  of  the  ordinary  man.  America 
at  this  time  supports  nearly  800  Christian  workers,  men 
and   women,  in  Japan;  nearly  3,000  in  China;  over 


110  WORLD  FACTS 

5,000  in  India;  eighty-six  in  Persia;  309  in  Turkey; 
with  proportionate  numbers  in  other  lands.  Each  one 
of  these  is  an  advance  agent  of  American  ideals  and 
hfe. 

And  now  comes  the  China  Medical  Board  of  the 
Rockefeller  Foundation,  with  its  great  plans  for  placing 
the  practice  of  medicine  on  a  scientific  and  adequate 
basis  throughout  the  Chinese  Republic.  Money  will 
not  be  spared  for  securing  the  best  possible  results. 
There  are  to  be  medical  schools  at  Peking,  Shanghai, 
Changsha,  and  possibly  at  other  centers.  Affiliated 
with  the  schools  are  to  be  hospitals  equipped  and 
manned  equal  to  the  best  institutions  in  the  world. 
In  order  that  Chinese  youth  may  be  prepared  for  high- 
grade  medical  work,  scientific  courses  are  to  be  pro- 
vided in  mission  colleges.  Mission  hospitals  are  to  be 
staffed  with  extra  doctors  and  nurses  and  affiliated 
with  the  central  medical  schools.  In  every  possible 
way  this  great  humanitarian  movement  is  being  car- 
ried out  in  the  spirit  of  missionary  endeavor,  even  to 
giving  the  mission  boards  generous  representation 
upon  its  directorate.  This  is  America's  latest  gift  to 
the  East,  a  ministry  of  healing  on  the  highest  levels  ^ 
of  efficiency  to  one  quarter  of  the  human  race! 

The  Seceet  of  Amekica's  Power 

China  is  the  typical  nation  of  the  East.  In  antiq- 
uity, in  area,  in  population,  in  natural  resources,  in 
race  characteristics,  she  overshadows  all  the  rest. 
When  we  talk  of  an  expansion  of  our  trade  in  the 
Orient,  it  is  China  that  we  have  in  mind.  When  we 
^jonsider  the  betterment  of  the  human  race,  China's 


THE  EAST  LOOKS  TO  AMERICA  111 

millions  occupy  our  first  thoughts.  Let  an  incident, 
then,  from  the  China  of  today  serve  to  interpret  the 
significance  of  the  fact  that  it  is  to  America  that  the 
East  looks  for  example  and  help. 

After  the  expulsion  of  the  Manchus  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  repubhcan  form  of  government,  it  was 
found  that  the  better  educated  among  the  Chinese 
were  developing  an  extraordinary  interest  in  every 
thing  pertaining  to  the  United  States.  In  the  city 
of  Fenchowfu  the  missionaries  took  advantage  of  the 
situation  to  organize  a  class  for  the  study  of  American 
institutions  and  law.  They  placed  the  class  in  the 
hands  of  a  talented  Chinese  pastor,  who  had  been 
graduated  from  a  college  in  the  United  States,  and 
invited  in  the  gentry  of  the  city.  The  proposition 
was  well  received  and  every  Sunday  afternoon  the 
leading  citizens  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  attended  in  a  body. 

For  several  weeks  they  Hstened  to  lectures  on  the 
American  Constitution,  the  structure  of  our  pohtical 
life,  our  pubUc  schools,  our  commercial  system,  and 
kindred  themes.  To  all  this  they  gave  close  and  ap- 
parently sympathetic  attention;  but  at  the  end  of  one 
of  the  lectures  a  member  of  the  class  rose  and  addressed 
the  pastor  to  this  effect:  '^We  Chinese  appreciate  all 
you  have  been  telUng  us  about  the  great  republic 
across  the  seas;  and  no  doubt  the  facts  you  have  been 
relating  are  important;  but  we  have  gained  the  im- 
pression that  the  real  secret  of  America's  success  is  not 
in  these  things  you  are  discussing,  but  in  their  sacred 
book,  which  we  beUeve  they  call  the  Bible.  We  un- 
derstand that  it  is  in  the  teachings  of  this  book  we 


112  WORLD   FACTS 

must  find  what  China  needs  today.  If  this  is  so, 
why  should  we  continue  studying  the  things  you  have 
been  giving  us,  when  we  might  be  studying  the  Book?" 

This,  of  course,  was  the  moment  for  which  the 
pastor  and  the  missionaries  had  been  eagerly  waiting, 
only  they  desired  the  suggestion  to  come  spontaneously 
from  the  class  itself.  Accordingly,  upon  its  own 
initiative,  the  lecture  course  in  American  law  and  life 
was  transformed  into  a  straight  Bible  class,  in  which 
this  company  of  Chinese  gentry  set  itself  to  the  study 
of  Christianity  in  its  application  to  national  problems. 

This  is  not  an  isolated  case.  All  over  China  today 
may  be  found  groups  of  the  leading  citizens,  .the 
literati  and  gentry,  searching  the  Christian  Scriptures 
for  Hght  upon  China's  political  problem.  America's 
behef  in  the  Bible  as  the  textbook  of  the  nations  has 
impressed  the  Chinese  as  the  most  fundamental  thing 
in  our  life.  And  what  is  true  of  China  now  will  be 
true  of  Japan  and  India  and  the  lands  of  the  Near  East 
if  America  knaws  the  day  of  her  opportunity. 


FACT  VI 
AMERICA  BREAKS  FROM  HER  ISOLATION 

''We  hazard  nothing  in  saying  that  not  only  the 
most  important  event  of  the  past  twenty  years  but  one 
of  the  most  important  events  of  all  time  was  the  advent 
of  the  United  States  into  the  family  of  nations."  This 
is  the  opening  sentence  in  Professor  John^  Bassett 
Moore's  great  work  on  ''The  Principles  of  American 
Diplomacy."  In  the  discussion  which  follows'  as  ^^o 
the  bearing  upon  the  future  of  the  world  of  America's 
entrance  into  the  War,  Professor  Moore,  does  not 
hesitate  to  use  such  expressions  as  "profound  signifi- 
cance," "far-reaching  effects."^ 

When  Lord  Balfour  came  to  the  United  States  in  the 
spring  of  1917,  bearing  the  greetings  of  Great  Britain, 
he  was  asked  by  a  reporter  to  state  briefly  what,  to  his 
mind,  was  the  significance  of  America's  declaration  of 
war.     He  repUed: 

"That  this  great  people  should  throw  themselves 
whole-heartedly  into  this  mighty  struggle,  prepared 
for  all  efforts  and  sacrifice  that  may  be  required  to  win 
success  for  this  most  righteous  cause,  is  an  event  at 
once  so  happy  and  so  momentous  that  only  the  his- 
torian of  the  future  will  be  able,  as  I  beheve,  to  measure 
its  true  proportions." 


1  John  Ba.ssett  Moore,  "Principles  of  American  Diplomacy," 
Edition  of  1918. 

113 


114  WORLD  FACTS 

Equally  impressive  sentiments  were  being  expressed 
in  Great  Britain  at  that  time.  One  of  the  most  strik- 
ing utterances  was  that  of  Mr.  Asquith  in  the  House 
of  Commons.  He  was  quoted  by  the  London  Times 
as  having  said: 

''I  doubt  whether  even  now  the  world  realizes  the 
full  significance  of  the  step  which  the  United  States 
has  taken.  It  is  one  of  the  most  disinterested  acts  in 
history.  It  is  not  a  calculation  of  material  gain  or  a 
hope  of  territorial  aggrandisement,  but  the  constrain- 
ing force  of  conscience  and  of  humanity  which  has 
enabled  the  President  to  carry  with  him  a  united  nation 
into  the  hazards  and  horrors  of  the  greatest  war  in 
history.  The  United  States  has  now  dedicated  herself 
without  hesitation  or  reserve,  heart  and  soul  and 
strength  to  the  greatest  of  causes.  Stimulated  and 
fortified  by  her  comradeship,  we  here  renew  our  fealty 
and  devotion." 

On  the  same  day  (April  19,  1918,  the  anniversary, 
by  the  way,  of  the  Battle  of  Lexington  and  Concord), 
Lord  Curzon  dehvered  in  the  House  of  Lords  a  speech 
which  contained  this  statement: 

"  The  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  War  stamps 
the  character  of  the  struggle  as  an  uprising  of  the 
conscience  of  the  world  in  a  combined  effort  to  put  an 
end  to  the  rule  of  Satan  on  this  earth.'' 

These  utterances,  comingfrom  statesmen  of  scholarly 
reserve  and  thoughtfulness,  spoken  in  the  first  flush  of 
enthusiasm,  have  not  been  modified  by  anything  said 
or  written  since  as  an  interpretation  of  America's 
decision,  after  long  delay,  to  stand  by  the  side  of  Eng- 
land and  her  Allies.  The  moment  the  die  was  cast 
the  world  knew  its  profound  significance.     It  was  one 


AMERICA  BREAKS  FROM  ISOLATION       115 

of  those  historical  events  which  instantly  clarify  the 
atmosphere  of  question  and  debate.  Three  years  of 
argument  based  upon  poUtical  provincialism  and  com- 
mercial greed,  three  years  of  pacifist  persuasion  and 
academic  theory  swept  away  by  a  single  act  of  Con- 
gress! We  discovered  in  those  days  new  meaning  in 
the  fines  which  were  written  during  the  Spanish  War: 

''For  we,  who  scarce  yet  see 
Wisely  to  rule  ourselves. 
Are  set  where  ways  are  met 
To  lead  the  waiting  nations  on. 
Not  for  our  own  land  now 
Are  battle-flags  unfurled, 
But  for  the  world." 

America's  Consistent  Choice 

In  the  early  days  of  our  participation  in  the  War,  the 
comment  of  the  press  in  the  United  States  dwelt  upon 
the  seeming  inconsistency  of  the  action.  It  was  de- 
clared to  be  ''an  astonishing  reversal  of  national 
policy,"  the  "deliberate  abandonment  of  the  ideals 
handed  down  from  Washington  and  firmly  entrenched 
in  national  consciousness."  It  was  held  that  by 
breaking  from  her  isolation,  America  had,  in  a  sense, 
broken  from  herself.  The  constructive  poficy  upon 
which  a  century's  growth  had  been  based  was  "thrown 
into  the  discard."  America  had  "jumped  out  of  her 
skin."  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  editorial  writers  and 
pubfic  speakers  who  placed  such  a  construction  upon 
the  event  that  almost  without  exception  they  regarded 
the  national  inconsistency  as  a  virtue  rather  than  a 
fault;  they  held  it  to  be  the  inconsistency  of  growth, 
the  transformation  of  a  people's  opinion  under  the 


116  WORLD  FACTS 

compulsion  of  a  world  situation  which  no  human  mind 
could  have  foreseen.  Emerson's  saying,  ''A  foolish 
consistency  is  the  hobgoblin  of  httle  minds,  adored  by 
httle  statesmen  and  philosophers  and  divines,"  brought 
comforting  reflections  to  many. 

This  humble-mindedness  was  more  creditable  to  our 
spirit  than  to  our  judgment.  Fortunately  there  were 
voices  hke  that  of  our  former  President,  Mr.  Taft,  who 
had  read  American  history  to  better  purpose,  and  who 
insisted  that  our  joining  in  the  World  War  was  inherent 
not  only  in  our  ideals  as  a  nation,  but  in  the  trend  of 
our  history  from  the  very  beginning. 

We  Americans  have  undergone  a  rapid  and  revolu- 
tionary process  of  education  since  April,  1917.  For 
over  a  century,  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  we  have  been 
reading  "The  Immortal  Declaration,"  only  to  realize 
now  that  it  was  essentially  a  world  document  in  its 
idea  and  scope.  When  the  Continental  Congress  pro- 
claimed that  "all  men  are  created  equal"  and  that 
they  have  "the  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness,"  and  when  furthermore  they  asserted  that 
the  right  to  rule  is  derived  "from  the  consent  of  the 
governed,"  this  country  committed  itself  to  a  theory  as 
universal  as  the  human  race.  The  signers  of  the  Decla- 
ration were  far-sighted  men.  They  believed  that  they 
were  placing  their  names  to  a  great  human  document. 
They  realized  that  the  challenge  of  the  new  world 
would  be  bitterly  resisted  by  the  old  world  powers. 
No  one  can  read  the  letters  of  Washington,  of  Hamil- 
ton, and  of  Franklin  and  not  feel  that  America  was 
dedicated  at  birth  to  the  cause  to  which  she  com- 
mitted herself  in  1917. 


AMERICA  BREAKS  FROM  ISOLATION       117 

In  the  early  days  of  the  War  references  were  fre- 
quently made  to  Wasliington's  advice  in  his  Farewell 
Address  in  the  matter  of  keeping  clear  of  European 
alliances  and  embroilments,  the  drift  of  comment  being 
that,  having  for  over  a  century  regarded  the  Address 
as  a  priceless  political  heritage,  the  sheet-anchor  of  our 
international  policy,  America  at  last  had  thrown  it 
over.  ''Poor  old  Washington!"  they  said  in  effect, 
''he  was  a  great  man  and  a  prophet  in  his  way,  but  he 
could  not  look  ahead  to  such  times  as  these.'' 

A  sufficient  reply  was  made  by  President  Wilson  in 
one  of  his  Liberty  Loan  addresses,  when  he  used  these 
words : 

"We  still  read  Washington's  immortal  warning 
against  'entangling  alliances'  with  full  comprehension 
and  an  answering  purpose.  But  only  special  and 
limited  alliances  entangle;  and  we  recognize  and  ac- 
cept the  duty  of  a  new  day,  in  which  we  are  per- 
mitted to  hope  for  a  general  alliance  which  will  avoid 
entanglements  and  clear  the  air  of  the  world  for  com- 
mon understandings  and  the  maintenance  of  common 
rights." 

Well  said;  only  the  phrase  "entangling  aUiances" 
was  not  used  by  Washington,  but  by  Jefferson.  It 
was  President  Taft  who,  early  in  the  discussion,  re- 
marked that  it  might  be  well  to  read  what  Washington 
actually  said  as  to  the  subject  of  our  European  rela- 
tions before  assuming  that  we  had  broken  with  his 
ideals.  He  pointed  out  that  the  famous  advice  was 
contained  in  these  words :  "  'Tis  our  true  poUcy  to  steer 
clear  of  permanent  alliances  with  any  portion  of  the 
foreign    world."     Similarly,    Mr.    Roosevelt    has    re- 


118  WORLD  FACTS 

minded  us  of  what  he  calls  Washington's  ''Forgotten 
Maxim  " :  ''  To  be  prepared  for  war  is  the  most  effectual 
means  to  promote  peace."  ^ 

Beyond  question  the  idea"  of  Washington,  as  of 
Hamilton  and  of  the  other  great  Federahsts,  was  that 
the  United  States  should  develop  in  political  isolation 
from  the  balance  of  the  world,  especially  Europe.  This 
they  considered  was  demanded  because  of  our  geo- 
graphical position,  the  complex  character  of  our  popu- 
lation, the  immensity  of  our  undeveloped  resources, 
and  our  extreme  weakness  as  a  nation.  Our  problems 
were  distinct  from  those  of  Europe  and  Asia.  Our 
very  existence  might  be  imperiled,  were  we  to  take 
sides  in  the  quarrels  which  were  dividing  the  Continen- 
tal Powers,  Not  for  a  moment,  however,  did  our 
great  Eounder  lose  sight  of  the  bearing  of  the  American 
experiment  upon  the  hfe  of  the  world.  Shortly  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  convention  which  drafted  our 
Constitution,  Washington  wrote  to  Lafayette  that  the 
United  States  would  one  day  ''have  weight  in  the 
scale  of  empires."  After  his  first  inaugural  he  wrote: 
"The  establishment  of  our  new  government  seemed  to 
be  the  last  great  experiment  for  promoting  human 
happiness  by  a  reasonable  compact  in  civil  society." 
Again  he  spoke  of  his  labors  "to  advance  the  felicity 
of  my  country  and  mankind." 

It  should  not  be  necessary  to  trace  this  idea  of 


2  In  the  interest  of  accuracy,  not  to  say  fairness,  it  should  be 
said  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  does  not  correctly  quote  Washington's 
words  to  Congress  on  the  subject  of  preparedness.  What  Wash- 
ington said  was  this:  ''To  be  prepared  for  war  is  one  of  the  most 
effective  means  of  preserving  peace." 


AMERICA  BREAKS  FROM  ISOLATION      119 

America's  mission  to  the  world  through  the  utterances 
of  other  great  leaders  and  interpreters  like  Hamilton, 
Jay,  Adams,  Monroe,  Webster,  and  Seward.  Suffice 
it  to  know  that  the  note  of  universaUty  has  never  been 
entirely  lacking  in  any  period,  least  of  all  during  the 
Civil  War,  when  many  supposed  we  were  fighting 
solely  to  preserve  our  own  unity.  By  common  con- 
sent, the  greatest  single  utterance  in  American  history 
is  the  Gettysburg  address  of  President  Lincoln.  In 
that  address  the  greatest  sentence  interpreted  the 
struggle  as  the  effort  to  maintain  popular  government 
for  the  benefit  of  the  human  race.  We  read  the  fa- 
miUar  phrase  so  ghbly  that  we  forget  its  tremendous 
sweep.  "That  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  for  the  people  shall  not  perish  from  the  earths 
It  was  a  universal  ideal  for  which  our  fathers  fought 
and  died  in  1861. 

Strange,  indeed,  that  after  such  a  founding,  after 
such  a  testing,  we  had  to  wait  for  a  member  of  a  sister 
repubhc,  Bartholdi,  the  Frenchman,  to  symboUze  and 
declare  our  great  ideal,  when  he  erected  in  our  leading 
port  the  statue  of  ''Liberty  Enlightening  the  World.'' ^ 
Stranger  still,  that  we  found  ourselves  so  unprepared 
for  the  event  which  hurled  us  into  the  world's  strife  for 
freedom  and  righteousness. 

Steps  in  Expansion 

The  above  considerations  are  enhanced  when  we 
trace  the  actual  steps  by  which  America  has  come  into 
a  position  of  world  influence  and  power.  We  owe  it  to 
Mr.  Taft  that  the  process  of  territorial  expansion  has 
been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  American  people 


120  WORLD   FACTS 

in  a  way  so  plain  and  compelling  that  even  school 
boys  can  understand  that  we  were  headed  for  a  world 
program  long  before  Congress  declared  war  against  the 
Central  Powers. 

;  Most  opportunely  there  appeared  about  the  same 
time  a  book  by  Dr.  H.  H.  Powers,  entitled  ''America 
Among  the  Nations,"  in  which  the  author  traced  the 
process  of  expansion  through  our  entire  history  in 
the  hght  of  the  national  temperament  and  the  compell- 
ing circumstances  of  the  time.  This  is  a  book  which 
should  be  read  by  every  American  who  cares  for  a 
candid  view  of  our  territorial  growth.  Dr.  Powers 
reminds  us  that  in  the  process  of  ''rounding  out  the 
continent"  we  were  led  into  complicated  and  often 
threatening  negotiations  with  nine  other  powers, 
namely,  Great  Britain,  France,  Spain,  Holland,  Russia, 
Denmark,  Mexico,  Colombia,  and  Panama. 

As  to  our  possessions  overseas,  such  as  are  in  no  wise 
involved  in  a  strictly  continental  policy,  the  record  is 
so  recent  that  one  is  distressed  to  find  how  few  have  it 
in  mind.  A  list  of  American  colonies  and  protectorates, 
with  the  dates  of  acquisition,  should  suffice  to  enlighten 
any  who  imagine  that  1917  saw  our  first  plunge  into 
world  pohtics. 

Here  is  the  record: 

Hawaii,  annexed  by  revolution 1898 

Porto  Rico  I  ^^^^^^^  ^y  ^^^^^y^  f^l. 

^um"^  •      t  1     ^    I     lowing  war  with  Spain     1899 
Philippme  Islands  J  ^  ^ 

Cuba,  protectorate  assumed,  following  war 

with  Spain 1899 

Tutuila  (Samoa)  annexed  by  treaty 1900 

Panama  Canal  Zone,  purchased 1904 


AMERICA  BREAKS  FROM  ISOLATION       121 

Santo  Domingo,  protectorate  assumed 1908 

Nicaragua,  virtual  protectorate  assumed. . .     1916 
Danish  West-Indies,  purchased 1917 

Hawaii,  Guam,  and  the  Philippines  have  been 
spoken  of  as  '^our  stepping-stones  across  the  Pacific." 
Very  good.  But  stepping-stones  to  what  ?  Clearly  to 
Asia.  That,  at  least,  is  the  interpretation  which  Asia 
and  Europe  have  placed  upon  the  acquisition  of  these 
islands.  Why  not  be  frank  and  recognize  it  ourselves  ? 
We  seek  no  territory  in  Asia;  we  ask  no  control  over 
her  governments;  we  do  desire  to  participate  in  her 
trade  and  to  help  her  to  a  larger  and  higher  life;  and 
we  stand  ready  to  defend  her  against  the  aggression 
of  selfish  powers.  The  plain  historical  fact  is  that 
when  Admiral  Dewey  decided  to  remain  in  Manila  Bay, 
America  then  and  there  became  an  Asiatic  Power.  By 
that  one  act  our  destinies  became  involved  in  the  net- 
work of  problems,  schemes,  negotiations,  and  possible 
wars  in  which  Europe  had  been  entangled  for  decades. 

Dr.  Powers  does  not  hesitate  to  use  the  word  im- 
perialistic  in  describing  our  international  policy.  He 
characterizes  the  first  century  of  American  history 
as  a  record  of  '' unparalleled  territorial  expansion." 
Referring  to  the  popular  astonishment  over  our  en- 
trance into  the  World  War,  he  remarks:  '^ Perhaps  no 
great  people  ever  reached  so  advanced  a  stage  of  de- 
velopment under  the  influence  of  such  complacent 
prepossessions." 

The  War  and  the  New  Outlook  upon  the  World 

All  this  was  changed  by  a  stroke.  There  are  no 
'^ prepossessions"  today.     At  last  America  knows  her- 


122  WORLD  FACTS 

self  and  her  world.  The  days  of  our  isolation  and 
aloofness  are  gone  forever.  The  transformation  was 
sudden,  radical,  permanent. 

The  significance  of  the  changed  point  of  view  is  sug- 
gested by  the  never-to-be-forgotten  incident  in  France 
in  connection  with  the  celebration  at  the  tomb  of 
Lafayette  in  the  Picpus  Cemetery  of  Paris,  on  July  4, 
1917.  It  will  be  recalled  that  this  was  the  occasion 
which  gave  rise  to  the  expression,  "Lafayette,  we  are 
herey  As  the  story  has  gone  the  rounds  of  the  press 
and  of  patriotic  gatherings  the  words  have  been  attri- 
buted to  various  army  officers,  especially  to  General 
Pershing.  The  evidence  appears  to  show  that  we  owe 
this  noble  utterance  to  Colonel  Stanton,  who  com- 
manded a  regiment  in  the  vicinity  of  Paris  on  the  day 
in  question.  The  words  appealed  powerfully  to  the 
American  imagination,  in  view  of  their  rare  appro- 
priateness to  the  occasion.  It  was  felt  also  that  they 
carried  a  deeper  meaning,  as  suggesting  America's 
new  sense  of  international  responsibility  —  her  readi- 
ness to  be  wherever  the  need  is  greatest.  Hereafter 
our  effort  must  be  to  live  up  to  that  utterance  and  to 
be  ready  to  say  ''We  are  here"  when  any  part  of  the 
world  cries  out  in  distress.  Of  this  we  may  be  certain 
—  that  we  shall  not  be  held  back  through  a  mistaken 
idea  of  our  poUtical  destiny.  America  has  joined  the 
worlds 


3  The  proper  accrediting  of  the  interesting  Lafayette  incident 
has  been  attempted  by  a  writer  in  the  New  York  Nation,  Profes- 
sor Albert  Schinz,  who  cites  a  French  pamphlet  containing  a 
speech  by  M,  Georges  Leygnes,  in  which  this  passage  is  found: 
" L'Angleterre,  Vltalie,  et  le  Japon  sont  Id;  la  Riissiefut  et  sera  Id; 


AMERICA  BREAKS  FROM  ISOLATION       123 

If  we  ask  ourselves  as  to  the  nature  of  this  change 
which  has  come  over  us  as  a  nation,  we  shall  find  it  in 
three  particulars. 

In  the  first  place,  the  world  outlook  is  no  longer  a 
possession  of  the  few  but  of  the  many.  It  is  no  longer 
a  matter  of  here  and  there  a  statesman,  a  pubUcist, 
an  editor  entertaining  imperiaUstic  views  drawn  from 
a  scrutiny  of  our  past.  We  have  seen  the  awakening 
of  the  nation  as  a  whole  to  a  sense  of  world  relation- 
ship and  responsibihty.  To  use  Dr.  GuHck's  word, 
''We  reaUze  that  we  can  no  longer  be  a  fragment.  ^. We 
must  be  part  of  the  whole." 

In  the  second  place,  we  find  ourselves  united  in  an 
effort  to  make  the  new  ideal  effective.  Possibly  the 
majority  of  our  people  before  the  War  would  have 
assented  to  the  idea,  as  an  academic  proposition,  that 
America  should  consider  herself  a  World  Power.  Their 
natural  pride  might  have  led  them  to  a '  theoretical 
admission  of  that  kind.  Today,  in  every  part  of  the 
country,  among  all  classes  of  people,  it  is  a  matter  of 
profound  conviction  that  we  stand  committed  to  a 
program  of  world-wide  influence  and  service. 

Thirdly,  and  this  is  suggested  by  both  the  above 
considerations,  we  discover  today  a  motive  in  our 
hearts  of  which  we  need  not  be  ashamed.  To  self- 
interest,  which  has  held  a  conspicuous  place  in  our 
outlook  upon  the  world,  and  which,  under  proper  re- 
straints, is  a  perfectly  proper  motive,  we  now  add 

la  Roumanie,  la  Belgique,  la  Serbie,  le  Mont^egro  sont  la!  A 
Picpus,  sur  la  tombe  du  compagnon  d'armes  de  Washington,  le 
colonel  Stanton,  commandant  le  premier  hataillon  Amiricain  a  dit: 
'La  Fayette,  nous  sommes  Id!'" 


124  WORLD  FACTS 

benevolence.  We  are  out  to  do  good  as  well  as  to 
receive  good.  Our  internationalism  is  not  only  self- 
regarding  but  other-regarding.  We  see  the  need  of 
our  section  of  the  world  in  the  light  of  the  need  of  the 
world's  whole.  Moreover,  we  stand  ready  to  make  the 
needful  sacrifices  in  order  that  other  nations  may  share 
in  our  good  things.  The  War  was  the  conversion  of 
the  nation  to  altruism.  It  was  the  most  conspicuous 
example  in  history  of  the  appUcation  of  the  Golden 
Rule  to  international  attitudes.  It  has  been  so  con- 
strued in  Europe,  it  has  been  so  construed  by  the 
weaker  peoples  of  the  earth.  The  United  States  is 
now  understood  by  the  Asiatic  peoples  as  the  protector 
of  the  weak,  and  as  standing  for  the  inviolabihty  of 
national  agreements.  They  know  that  here  is  a  nation 
whose  word  means  good  for  all  and  whose  word  will  be 
kept.  We,  on  our  part,  acknowledge  with  gratitude 
the  new  estimate  of  our  worth  to  humanity  and  accept 
our  share  of  responsibiUty  for  the  world's  good  order 
and  happiness. 

America  a  Missionary  Nation 

All  this  means  that  we  have  become  what  President 
Roosevelt  said  we  were  some  years  ago,  "a,  missionary 
nation."  The  expression  attracted  not  a  little  atten- 
tion at  the  time,  but  it  was  more  prophetic  than 
descriptive.  It  was  true  to  our  ideals,  but  not  true  to 
our  practice.  It  is  well  to  recall  that  when  Mr.  Roose- 
velt used  this  expression  only  a  small  minority  of 
church  people,  possibly  a  fifth  of  the  total  membership, 
stood  avowedly  and  earnestly  for  a  world  vision  in 
Church  and  State.     Moreover  those  who  rose  to  this 


AMERICA  BREAKS  FROM  ISOLATION       125 

conception  were,  as  a  rule,  ridiculed  mercilessly  by  the 
press.  They  were  a  favorite  stock  in  trade  for  noveUsts 
and  dramatists  who  sought  for  some  popular  object  of 
contempt.  Even  by  their  fellow  church  members  they 
were  regarded  as  ultra-pietistic,  visionary,  impracti- 
cable, impossible.  A  missionary  convention  would  get 
scant  attention  in  any  community  and  none  too  much 
attention  in  any  church.  Ministers  for  the  most  part 
considered  it  a  great  virtue  to  preach  on  international 
Christianity.  It  was  referred  to  as  a  topic  ''not  exactly 
popular  in  my  congregation."  When  missionaries  or 
missionary  secretaries  preached  in  the  churches  not 
infrequently  they  were  asked  to  disguise  their  topics. 
All  honor  to  the  noble  few,  in  press  and  pulpit  and  pew, 
who  drew  their  ideals  of  national  responsibility  from 
the  New  Testament  and  not  from  the  academy  or  the 
counting  room !  All  welcome  to  the  many  who  have  at 
last  waked  up  to  the  reaUzation  that  no  nation  —  not 
even  America  —  liveth  to  itself.  Perhaps  the  War  is 
worth  all  it  has  cost  from  having  secured  this  one  result. 
In  view  of  our  recent  conversion  to  world  duties  and 
responsibihties,  it  is  encouraging  to  find  a  readiness  to 
give  the  new  principle  free  play,  even  though  it  may 
involve  no  Httle  sacrifice  on  our  part.  We  are  begin- 
ning to  recognize  that  politically  it  is  Hkely  to  carry  us 
far  afield,  perhaps  to  the  very  ends  of  the  earth.  It  is 
hardly  conceivable  that  we  should  refuse  counsel  and 
help  to  any  nation,  certainly  not  any  weak  nation, 
which  desires  to  shape  its  institutions  upon  American 
models.  A  good  many  among  us  will  wish  to  go 
farther  than  that  and  to  say  that  America  must  not 
refuse  direct  governmental  responsibihty  for  such  back- 


126  WORLD  FACTS 

ward  people  as  may  be  urged  upon  us  by  the  concert 
of  powers. 

Who  is  to  take  charge  of  the  newly  freed  national- 
ities of  Europe  and  Asia  which  may  not  be  ready  for 
self-government  for  a  generation  or  more?  Who  is  to 
become  their  protector  against  the  aggression  of  selfish 
neighbors  ?  Who  is]to  protect  them  against  themselves  ? 
Who  is  to  organize  their  pohtical,  economic,  and  edu- 
cational hfe?  Who  is  to  save  them  for  democracy? 
Are  we  to  have  no  responsibihty  here?  The  United 
States  went  into  the  War  in  behalf  of  the  rights  of  the 
smaller  nations.  We  informed  the  world  that  we  would 
do  our  full  share  in  making  hberty  secure  for  all.  We 
helped  to  win  the  War  and  to  that  extent  it  may  be 
said  we  fulfilled  our  duty;  but  we  know  now  this  was 
but  the  beginning  of  the  process,  that  the  problems 
of  peace  are  as  difficult  and  as  grave  as  those  of  war. 
Is  it  conceivable  that  America  should  withdraw  at  this 
point  and  say,  '^Having  brought  the  War  to  a  success- 
ful issue,  we  now  propose  to  return  to  our  former 
pursuits.  We  wash  our  hands  of  any  further  respon- 
sibihty. As  to  what  remains  of  the  world-task,  we 
leave  it  to  England,  France,  and  Italy"?  It  is  grati- 
fying to  find  that  American  sentiment  is  not  setting 
in  that  direction.  Rather  we  find  men  saying,  "We 
went  into  the  War  from  the  highest  of  motives  in 
respect  to  the  needs  of  the  weaker  nations.  We 
fought  not  only  for  their  freedom,  but  for  their  right 
to  prosperity  and  happiness.  We  propose  to  stand  by 
them  to  their  end.  We  propose  to  do  our  share  in  the 
problems  of  peace  as  in  those  of  war.  As  a  nation,  we 
will  '  carry  on.' " 


AMERICA  BREAKS   FROM  ISOLATION       127 

The  discussion  of  this  interesting  point  has  centered 
round  the  disposition  of  the  races  which  compose  what 
was  the  Turkish  Empire,  especially  the  Armenians, 
Syrians,  and  Palestinian  Jews.  It  is  no  secret  that 
many  of  the  poUtical  and  religious  leaders  of  these 
people  desire  to  come  under  the  protection  of  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  until  such  time  as  they  may  be  ready  for 
self-rule.  After  six  centuries  of  Turkish  robbery  and 
oppression,  it  is  no  wonder  they  find  themselves  un- 
prepared for  the.  responsibihties  of  complete  indepen- 
dence. They  are  too  poor  to  develop  the  resources 
of  the  land  and  too  pauch  spUt  into  factions  to  admin- 
ister equal  justice.  Where  shall  they  turn  for  help? 
They  recall  that  for  a  hundred  years  America  has  been 
sending  missionaries  and  educators  to  them  and  spend- 
ing milhons  of  dollars  in  estabhshing  humanitarian 
institutions  in  their  midst.  They  know  we  do  not 
covet  a  square  foot  of  their  territory.  They  beUeve  in 
our  disinterestedness.  They  are  assured  that,  if  we 
accepted  control,  it  would  be  in  the  capacity  of  trustees; 
we  would  not,  Europe-wise,  seek  to  fasten  our  hold 
upon  the  country;  we  would  retire  at  the  earUest 
possible  moment  and  rejoice  heartily  in  their  ability  to 
assimie  control  of  their  own  affairs.  Can  we  wonder 
that  they  are  looking  in  our  direction  for  help  ? 

It  is  significant  that  prominent  British  statesmen, 
like  Viscount  Bryce,  have  been  led  to  seek  the  same 
solution  for  the  vexed  problem  of  the  Near  East.  It  is 
definitely  urged  in  high  quarters  that  the  Peace  Con- 
ference should  ask  the  United  States,  under  suitable 
treaty  guarantees,  to  undertake  the  government  of  a 
large   part   of   the   territory   comprising   the   former 


128  WORLD  FACTS 

Turkish  Empire.  Lord  Bryce  argues  strongly  for  the 
development  of  the  Turkish  states,  aside  from  Arabia, 
as  a  poHtical  and  geographical  unit  centering  in  Con- 
stantinople. To  divide  this  territory  between  England, 
France,  Italy,  and  Greece,  he  holds,  would  be  to  retard 
its  proper  development  and  to  plant  the  seeds  of  future 
jealousy  and  strife.  Of  the  leading  races  inhabiting 
this  area  —  Turks,  Greeks,  Armenians,  Syrians,  and 
Jews  —  he  finds  none  in  a  position  to  rule  over  the 
others,  or  even  over  themselves.  He  concludes  that 
the  protectorate  cannot  be  offered  to  one  of  the  Euro- 
pean AlHes  without  arousing  the  suspicions  of  the 
world.  Such  a  course  would  be  open  to  the  charge 
that  we  have  put  Germany  out  in  order  to  put  a  rival 
power  in.  The  neutral  states  of  Europe  are  excluded 
from  consideration  as  lacking  the  resources  and  pres- 
tige necessary  for  so  grave  a  responsibiUty.  Thus,  by 
a  process  of  ehmination,  Lord  Bryce  reaches  the  con- 
clusion that  America  is  the  only  Power  in  a  position  to 
exercise  rule  over  these  people  of  Bible  lands. 

The  Bryce  program  is  supported  by  not  a  few  stu- 
dents of  the  Eastern  question  in  America,  conspicuous 
among  whom  are  Dr.  James  L.  Barton,  Foreign  Secre- 
tary of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  and  Rev.  A.  M.  Rihbany,  minister  of 
the  Church  of  the  Disciples,  Boston,  himself  a  native 
of  Syria.^ 

The  idea  that  America  should  rule  in  the  place  of  the 
discredited  Turk  is  so  opposed  to  our  national  tradi- 

^  For  an  interesting  and  well-balanced  discussion  of  this  ques- 
tion see  "America  Save  the  Near  East,"  by  Abraham  Mitrie 
Rihbany. 


AMERICA  BREAKS  FROM  ISOLATION       129 

tions  and  temperament  that  when  it  was  first  broached, 
people  fairly  gasped  in  astonishment.  The  proposi- 
tion was  called  "fantastic  in  the  extreme,"  ''prepos- 
terous." Sober  second  thought  has  led  a  good  many 
to  revise  their  first  impressions  and  to  admit  that  the 
plan  has  much  to  commend  it.  Certainly  it  should  not 
be  disposed  of  in  the  spirit  of  lofty  scorn  or  ridicule. 
Having  already  assumed  responsibility  for  Cuba  at  our 
very  door,  and  for  the  Philippines  on  the  other  side  of 
the  world,  is  there  any  inherent  reason  why  the  United 
States  should  not  perform  a  hke  friendly  act  in  behalf 
of  a  distracted  land  half  way  between?  Few  would 
argue  that  on  purely  political  grounds  we  should  in- 
volve ourselves  in  this  most  intricate  problem  of 
world  adjustment.  On  the  ground  of  general  human- 
itarian interests  and  of  world  peace  the  question  should 
be  taken  up  at  Versailles  without  prejudice.  If  Amer- 
ica should  be  led  to  assume  this  task,  it  woul4  be  the 
most  unselfish  service  ever  rendered  by  one  nation  to 
another  in  a  time  of  peace. 

Whatever  opinions  may  be  held  on  the  subject  of 
America's  assuming  governmental  responsibiUty  in  dis- 
tant parts  of  the  earth,  there  can  be  no  question  as  to 
the  obligation  resting  upon  us  in  the  matter  of  the 
world-wide  dissemination  of  the  principles  of  Christian 
civilization  as  we  have  worked  them  out  here  at  home. 
A  fine  setting  forth  of  our  opportunity  in  this  sphere  is 
found  in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  address  of  former  Presi- 
dent Ehot,  of  Harvard,  in  which  he  discussed  America's 
characteristic  achievements  in  the  realm  of  civilization. 
He  fists  five  things  as  constitutiong  our  offering  to  the 
race;  peacekeeping;  religious  toleration;  the  develop- 


130  WORLD  FACTS 

ment  of  manhood  suffrage;  the  welcoming  of  new- 
comers; the  diffusion  of  well-being. 

President  Eliot  believes  that  every  candid  American 
citizen  would  wish  to  make  qualifications  and  deduc- 
tions with  regard  to  every  one  of  these  things.  He 
seeks  to  guard  his  own  statements  against  undue  in- 
ference; he  would  make  no  egotistical  boast.  But 
that  he  has  correctly  set  forth  America's  unique  achieve- 
ments in  the  realm  of  civiUzation  few  among  us  will 
question.  But  have  we  a  right  to  call  these  things 
contributions?  In  theory,  Yes;  in  practice,  No. 
They  are  contributions  in  the  sense  that  we  have  said 
to  the  nations,  ''Here  they  are  —  come  and  get  them.'' 
They  are  not  contributions  in  the  sense  that  in  any 
earnest  thoroughgoing  fashion  we  have  attempted  to 
give  them  to  mankind.  What  remains  is^  that  these 
achievements  shall  be  made  a  practical  matter  in  the 
world's  hfe. 

America  is  compelled  to  world  service  by  the  logic 
of  her  own  achievements.  Glance  at  President  Eliot's 
list  and  see  if  you  can  discover  an  item  that  is  not 
universal  in  its  nature  and  scope.  ''Peace-keeping" 
—  is  there  anything  American  about  that?  Are  we 
to  claim  a  monopoly  of  the  disposition  to  respect  rights 
of  others,  a  monopoly  of  justice  and  good  will  among 
men,  or  does  this  ideal  belong  to  the  race  as  such? 
"Rehgious  toleration"  —  is  that  a  privilege  bestowed 
by  the  Creator  upon  the  United  States  of  America, 
or  does  it  belong  equally  to  Arabia,  Turkey,  Afghanis- 
tan, and  Tibet  ?  Consider  the  last  and  most  inclusive 
item  —  "The  diffusion  of  well-being."  America  is  the 
most  favored  of  all  lands  in  this  respect.     In  physical 


AMERICA  BREAKS  FROM  ISOLATION       131 

condition  she  stands  at  the  top  of  the  list.  In  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  well-being  she  is  well  to  the  front. 
In  the  diffusion  of  all  these  —  and  that  is  President 
Eliot's  point  —  she  leads  the  world.  What  then? 
The  more  is  the  duty  of  altruism  pressed  home.  Am- 
erica must^share  her  well-being  with  the  world  or  be- 
come the  most  selfish  nation  upon  earth. 

Let  us  be  even  more  specific.  Take  the  matter  of 
our  physical  well-being,  or  in  plain  language  good 
health.  Consider  our  numerous  medical  schools, 
richly  endowed;  our  abundance  of  physicians,'^ one  for 
every  600  of  the  population;  our  generous  supply  of 
nurses,  the  best  trained  in  the  world;  our  hospitals, 
the  largest  and  best  equipped  on  earth;  our  sanitary 
engineers,  and  our  health  departments  of  world  fame. 
The  New  York  Directory  of  Charities  fills  800  pages  of 
a  closely-printed  volume  and  hsts  some  200  hospitals. 
Other  cities  make  a  corresponding  showing.  Have 
we  a  divine  right  to  these  things,  as  against  the  re- 
mainder of  the  world,  or  does  God  purpose  to  have 
all  men  healthy  and  strong? 

Illustrations  of  how  our  opulent  land  may  serve  the 
world  in  practical  ways  could  be  multiplied  indefinitely. 
They  would  be  particularly  impressive  in  its  realm  of 
education.  America  today  is  offered  the  chance  of 
educating  China.  Think  of  it !  The  chance  to  impress 
our  political,  economic,  and  religious  ideals  upon  one 
quarter  of  the  human  race,  to  bind  those  people  to  us 
forever  as  neighbors  and  friends!  Our  minds  may  well 
kindle  over  such  a  prospect. 

The  picture  would  not  be  complete  without  the 
thought  of  America  leading  the  forces  which  make  for 


132  WORLD  FACTS 

spiritual  regeneration.  The  nations  must  be  brought 
to  understand  the  deepest  secret  of  our  strength. 
America  is  missionary  in  her  ideals  because  America 
is  Christian  in  her  beUef.  We  can  take  to  ourselves 
the  words  which  St.  Paul  wrote  to  the  church  at 
Colossse:  ''The  word  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  which 
is  come  unto  you,  as  it  is  in  all  the  world;  and  bringeth 
forth  fruit,  as  it  doth  also  in  you,  since  the  day  ye 
heard  of  it,  and  knew  the  grace  of  God  in  truth." 
We  believe  our  civilization  to  be  the  product  of  the 
message  which  the  apostles  of  Christ  spread  through- 
out the  Roman  world.  We  recognize  that  the  fruit  of 
the  Gospel  has  been  made  to  abound  here  as  in  no 
other  section  of  the  earth.  What  then?  Are  we  to 
keep  these  blessings  to  ourselves,  or  are  we  to  share 
them  with  the  human  race? 

That  is  the  issue  of  Americanism  raised  by  the 
World  War. 


FACT  VII 

AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  IN  A  FELLOW- 
SHIP OF  SERVICE 

Have  we,  in  the  preceding  discussion,  overstated  the 
case  for  America?  Are  the  considerations  adduced 
under  Facts  V  and  VI  tantamount  to  shouting  in  the 
hearing  of  Europe  and  the  rest  of  the  world,  ''We  are 
the  people!  Behold  the  destiny  of  the  race  is  in  our 
hands!"  Have  we  been  feeding  the  flames  —  already 
too  high  —  of  our  national  egotism,  not  to  say  bump- 
tiousness? No  doubt  we  have  run  the  risk  of  such  a 
charge;  and  no  doubt  there  are  those  who  will  remark, 
''What  we  Americans  need  is  not  more  pride,  but  more 
humble-mindedness . ' ' 

If  so,  we  now  make  amends  —  generous,  full,  and 
free;  for  Americans  everywhere  are  saying  that  even 
more  wonderful  than  the  emergence  of  our  country  as 
a  world  power  is  the  reunion  of  the  Anglo-American 
family.  If  there  is  any  glory,  we  propose  to  share  it 
with  the  Mother  Country;  nay,  we  propose  that  she 
shall  have  by  far  the  larger  part.     For  to  her  it  belongs. 

America's  Appreciation  of  Great  Britain 

The  intense  admiration  which  America  has  had  for 
the  attitude  and  achievements  of  the  Mother  Country 
found  its  highest  expression  on  August  4,  1918,  in 
connection  with  the  celebration  of  the  fourth  anniver- 

133 


134  WORLD  FACTS 

sary  of  Britain's  entry  into  the  War.  The  celebration 
came  at  the  time  when  we  were  receiving  the  first 
news  of  severe  losses  in  battle.  Those  were  the  tragic 
days  of  Chateau-Thierry  and  Soissons,  when  our  troops 
were  having  their  first  experiences  of  fighting  on  a 
large  scale.  Our  minds  were  occupied  by  the  thought 
that  the  splendid  young  fellows  who  had  gone  out  from 
our  churches,  our  colleges,  and  our  homes  were  pour- 
ing out  their  blood  on  the  fields  of  France.  Long  lists 
of  casualties  were  appearing  for  the  first  time  in  the 
papers.  With  what  trembling  we  scanned  the  fateful 
columns  day  by  day!  Sad  messages  were  coming  into 
American  homes  in  every  section  of  the  land.  Gold 
stars  were  appearing  on  our  service  flags.  At  last 
the  fearful  storm  had  broken  upon  us.  The  days  of 
our  security  were  past,  we  had  become  sharers  in  the 
agony  of  the  world. 

And  this  helped  us  to  appreciate  England  and 
Canada  far  more  than  in  the  past.  If  our  admiration 
had  been  great,  it  now  became  colossal.  For  four  long 
years  they  had  experienced  these  things  and  had  not 
complained.  The  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  New 
York,  voiced  the  feehngs  of  America  at  that  time  in 
these  fitting  words :  • 

''The  debt  that  we,  and  all  who  love  freedom,  owe 
to  the  British  Empire,  is  one  that  holds  its  own  great 
place  in  the  world's  gratitude,  and  that  can  never  be 
repaid  nor  forgotten.  What  words  can  express  the 
debt  that  we,  and  the  world,  owe  at  this  moment  and 
have  owed  during  these  four  years  to  the  British  Fleet, 
keeping  its  ceaseless  watch  for  all  of  us  in  the  grey 
North  Sea?  From  the  first  week  of  the  War  Britain 
has  poured  out  her  treasure  and  her  blood  without 


AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  135 

limit  in  the  cause  that  is  common  to  us  all.  It  is 
Britain's  blockade  that  has  held  the  German  Fleet 
captive  in  the  safety  of  the  harbor  from  which  it  has 
scarcely  dared  to  emerge.  It  is  Britain's  ships  that 
have  cleared  the  seas  of  every  German  vessel,  save  only 
the  undersea  pirates  who  war  on  women  and  children 
and  shoot  defenseless  sailors  in  their  boats;  and  these 
foul  craft  are  now  largely  controlled,  thank  God,  with 
the  aid  which  our  own  gallant  Navy  is  proud  to  render. 
It  is  British  transports  that  have  carried  across  the 
ocean  sixty  per  cent  of  the  army  of  our  noble  boys  now 
in  France,  where  they  have  made  such  a  glorious  be- 
ginning, and  have  brought  such  unshakable  confidence 
to  our  war-worn  allies.  It  is  British  destroyers  which 
have  helped  in  large  part  to  convoy  these  transports  in 
safety.  It  is  the  men  of  Britain  who  came  voluntarily 
from  all  parts  of  the  earth  to  fight  for  freedom  beneath 
her  flag,  and  to  form  the  greatest  volunteer  army  the 
world  has  ever  seen.  It  is  Britain,  a  million  of  whose 
brave  sons  he  today  in  soldiers'  graves,  and  whose 
casualties  during  the  great  drive  of  last  March  num- 
bered 40,000  or  more  each  separate  week." 

A  prominent  metropolitan  paper  utilized  the  anni- 
versary for  declaring  that  few  nations  in  the  history  of 
the  world  have  ever  presented  a  nobler ;  spectacle  of 
effort  in  war  than  England  has  presented  in  these  four 
years  of  struggle. 

''While  putting  13.3  per  cent  of  her  entire  popula- 
tion in  the  forces,  she  has  intensified  and  magnified 
her  industries.  She  has  submitted  herself,  for  the 
effective  prosecution  of  the  War,  to  the  heaviest  taxa- 
tion ever  known.  They  have  pushed  their  public 
debt  (Jan.  1,  1917)  up  to  $16,847,000,000  and  their 
interest  charge  up  to  $619,000,000.  Not  only  do  they 
cheerfully  bear  these  burdens,  but  they  are  ready  to 
increase  them  for  the  sake  of  the  cause  we  are  all 


136  WORLD  FACTS 

fighting  for.  It  has  been  a  revelation  of  national 
pluck  and  competence.  Acknowledging  this  magnifi- 
cent endeavor,  claiming  the  share  of  our  blood  in  the 
fame  of  it,  and  reiterating  the  pledge  of  our  devotion 
to  the  joint  cause  of  Mother  Country  and  Daughter 
Country,  we  may  salute  England  on  this  day  of  her 
immortal  honor,  and  speed  to  her  our  earnest  hope 
that  long  ere  another  fourth  of  August  has  come  she 
will  be  in  the  full  of  enjoyment  of  that  peace  with 
victory  that  she  has  so  richly  merited." 

:^''  Similarly  "pulpit  and  press  in  all  parts  of  the  country 
vied  with  each  other  in  paying  tribute  to  England's 
gallantry  and  perseverance.  Three  things  stood  con- 
spicuous in  the  comment  of  the  day:  the  chivalrous 
attitude  of  the  entire  nation  towards  Belgium  and 
France;  the  sturdiness  of  the  homefolks,  especially 
the  men  and  women  of  gentle  birth;  the  fighting 
qualities  of  British  soldiers.  Praise  was  about  equally 
divided  between  the  nation  as  a  whole  for  its  exhibition 
of  unselfishness  in  purpose  and  devotion  to  high  prin- 
ciple, and  the  men  at  the  front  for  their  superb  courage 
and  endurance. 

r  When  Lloyd  George  announced  on  August  7,  1918, 
that  Great  Britain  alone  had  raised  for  the  Army  and 
Navy  6,250,000  men,  for  the  most  part  voluntarily, 
that  the  dominions  had  contributed  1,000,000  men, 
and  India  1,250,000  men,  making  8,500,000  in  all  for 
the  armies  of  the  Empire,  and  when  it  was  added  that 
5,000,000  British  women  who  never  worked  before  had 
voluntarily  gone  to  fill  the  places  at  home  of  the  men 
at  the  front,  who  could  withhold  grateful  and  enthusi- 
astic praise  ?  America  was  seeking  to  do  her  full  share, 
but  she  was  not  boasting  in  those  days  nor  has  the 


AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  137 

true  American  been  given  to  boasting  at  any  point  in 
the  struggle.  If  the  event  had  not  been  too  immense, 
too  tragic  for  such  a  disposition,  England's  example 
would  have  been  a  sufficient  curb. 

The  War  has  educated  the  American  people  in  many- 
respects,  but  in  none  more  than  in  the  matter  of  our 
obhgations  to  Great  Britain.  It  is  a  commonly  ex- 
pressed behef  today  that  England's  heroism  early  in 
the  War  saved  the  situation  for  us  as  well  as  for  France. 
It  is  worth  recalUng,  however,  that  from  the  very 
beginning  there  have  been  those  among  us  —  not  a  few 
—  who  reaHzed  that  the  cause  of  England  was  the 
cause  of  liberty  throughout  the  world,  and  that  least 
of  all  could  a  country  Hke  America  afford  to  stand  off 
and  say,  ''This  is  no  concern  of  ours."  The  ties  of 
ancestry,  of  travel,  of  common  life  and  purpose,  which 
had  grown  appreciably  stronger  in  recent  years,  be- 
came inexpressibly  tender  as  we  saw  the  people  of  the 
motherland  —  her  scholars,  her  poets,  her  statesmen, 
her  noblest  workers  in  every  department  of  Ufe  —  going 
forth  to  die  for  the  safety  of  the  world.  No  Unes  have 
been  written  more  expressive  of  America's  new  feehng 
at  that  time,  than  those  of  Juliet  Whiton : 

''I  longed  to  go  to  England, 
And  walk  across  the  downs, 
I  longed  to  go  to  England 
To  the  little  EngUsh  towns 
Where  all  the  brave  young  English  hearts 
Once  lived,  for  which  they  died: 
I  longed  to  go  to  England, 
I  longed  to  live  in  England, 
I  longed  to  be  of  England 
And  share  her  sorrowing  pride. 


138  WORLD  FACTS 

They  lived  so  strong  for  England, 
Those  poets,  grave  and  gay, 
They  died  so  young  for  England  — 
They're  dying  every  day  — 
The  haunting  music  of  their  songs 
Their  braver  hearts  will  tell, 
Because  they  gave  for  England, 
Because  they  fought  for  England, 
Because  they  died  for  England, 
And  died,  oh,  none  so  well!" 


Great  Britain's  Appreciation  of  America 

On  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  no  lack  of  appre- 
ciation on  the  part  of  the  British  public  of  America's 
destined  part  in  the  great  struggle.  We  knew  we  were 
needed.  After  the  collapse  of  Russia,  we  knew  we 
were  needed  sorely.  But  few  among  us  were  prepared 
for  the  burst  of  gratification  which  came  from  the 
British  press  and  from  parliamentary  leaders  the  mo- 
ment the  decision  was  reached  by  the  vote  of  Con- 
gress, April  6,  1917.     Said  Lloyd  George  at  that  time: 

''America  has  at  one  bound  become  a  world  power 
in  a  sense  she  never  was  before.  She  waited  until  she 
found  a  cause  worthy  of  her  traditions.  The  American 
people  held  back  until  they  were  fully  convinced  the 
fight  was  not  a  sordid  scrimmage  for  power  and  pos- 
sessions, but  an  unselfish  struggle  to  overthrow  a  sin- 
ister conspiracy  against  human  liberty  and  human 
right.  Once  that  conviction  was  reached,  the  great 
Republic  of  the  West  has  leaped  into  the  arena  and  she 
stands  now  side  by  side  with  the  European  democracies 
who,  bruised  and  bleeding,  after  three  years  of  grim 
conflict,  are  still  fighting  the  most  savage  foe  that  ever 
menaced  the  freedom  of  the  world.'* 


AMERICA  AND   GREAT  BRITAIN  139 

England  was  ringing  with  utterances  of  this  kind, 
whose  sincerity  needed  no  defense.  On  every  side  it 
was  recognized  that  our  coming  in  had  saved  the  day 
for  the  AlUes.  Dr.  Lang,  the  Archbishop  of  York, 
who  visited  the  United  States  soon  after  our  declara- 
tion of  war,  described  France  as  "  worn  to  the  bone," 
Italy  as  ''standing  at  bay,"  Russia  as  ''dissolved  into 
the  element  from  which  it  was  created,"  and  the 
civihzed  world  as  "facing  the  greatest  crisis  in  its 
history."  He  made  an  appeal  for  "a  united  EngUsh- 
speaking  people  as  the  only  possible  hope^for  ending 
the  war  with  a  decisive  victory."  "The  time  has 
come,"  he  declared,  "when  the  people  of  the  United 
States  must  save  the  situation." 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  the  utterances  of  leading 
Englishmen  at  that  time  with  reference  to  the  specific 
causes  for  thanksgiving.  The  winning  of  the  War 
beyond  any  question  through  American  intervention 
naturally  stood  out  conspicuously.  But  scarcely  less 
marked  was  the  feeling  of  satisfaction,  deep  and  strong, 
over  America's  support  in  the  matter  of  the  moral  char- 
acter of  the  struggle.  The  very  fact  of  our  deUberate- 
ness  in  reaching  a  decision  added  to  the  impressiveness 
of  the  verdict  when  it  was  rendered.  Multitudes  of 
Americans,  probably  the  vast  majority  of  them,  cannot 
regard  with  complacency  the  fact  that  when  a  struggle 
involving  the  very  existence  of  a  civilization  based  upon 
justice  and  humanity  was  at  stake,  our  country  did  not 
take  her  stand  by  the  side  of  Great  Britain  and  France 
at  an  earlier  date;  but  to  our  English  friends  the  delay 
seems  to  have  brought  the  sense  of  a  far  weightier 
judgment. 


140  WORLD  FACTS 

Underlying  both  of  these  considerations  was  the 
recognition  of  the  reunited  Anglo-American  stock  as 
one  of  the  momentous  facts  of  history.  Not  all  have 
discerned  the  higher  significance  of  our  partnership 
with  Great  Britain,  but  there  are  prophetic  souls  on 
both  sides  of  the  water  to  whom  the  vision  has  come 
and  who  will  not  rest  until  it  has  been  realized  in  a 
glorious  fellowship  of  service  in  behalf  of  the  world. 
The  London  Times  in  a  leading  editorial,  appearing  a 
few  days  after  our  entrance  into  the  War,  declared, 
''The  future  of  the  world  depends  upon  the  closest 
cooperation  between  the  two  great  Anglo-Saxon 
democracies." 

The  Fundamental  Unity 

Some  may  argue  that  this  is  too  optimistic  a  view, 
that  when  this  war  enthusiasm  is  over  and  the  two 
countries  settle  down  to  the  grind  and  conflict  of  the 
world's  economic  life,  each  will  go  its  own  way,  re- 
gardless of  the  other,  and  that  we  may  even  experience 
the  sharpest  kind  of  rivalry  for  world  trade  and  prestige. 
It  may  be;  but  it  is  hardly  conceivable,  since  such  a 
falling  apart  would  involve  the  denial  of  all  that  is 
fundamental  in  the  civilization  which  we  now  recog- 
nize as  our  common  possession.  Already  we  have 
come  to  feel  that  the  discovery  of  our  deeper  unity  is 
the  best  possible  pledge  of  future  cooperation.  Hence- 
forth America  and  Great  Britain  are  to  pull  together. 
That  is  the  overwhelming  verdict  of  the  two  countries. 

It  is  highly  significant  that  in  neither  country  is  a 
formal  alliance  being  urged.  The  instability  of  alliances 
between  pairs  or  groups  of  states  in  the  face  of  severe 


AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  141 

economic  pressure  or  political  threatening  is  fairly  well 
understood  in  these  days.  The  past  few  years  have 
been  pecuharly  fruitful  in  baneful  examples.  No  sane 
man  in  England  or  the  United  States  desires  a  com- 
pact from  which  the  other  nations  would  be  shut  out. 
Our  alliance  rests  on  a  deeper  foundation :  on  the  pos- 
session of  a  common  history,  a  common  language,  a 
common  literature,  a  common  basis  of  law,  a  common 
religion,  and,  above  all,  common  ideals  of  civihzation. 
With  such  a  background  the  union  simply  had  to  be. 
If  the  two  countries  had  not  found  each  other  as  a 
result  of  the  War,  they  would  have  made  the  discovery 
in  some  other  way. 

It  is  not  to  the  credit  of  either  country  that  we  have 
been  so  long  in  reaching  this  understanding.  Possibly 
the  greater  blame  rests  upon  the  United  States,  in 
view  of  our  indebtedness  to  the  Mother  Country  for 
pretty  much  everything  which  is  fundamental  to  our 
political  hfe.  In  the  book  already  quoted,  '^America 
Among  the  Nations,"  Dr.  Powers  has  a  noble  chapter 
entitled  ''The  Great  Fellowship,"  meaning  the  fellow- 
ship between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 
He  maintains  that  in  the  years  immediately  preceding 
the  War  Britain  was  far  more  conscious  than  we  of  the 
essential  unity  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  world. 

''Her  deaUngs  with  the  great  dominions  which, 
despite  their  stoutly  asserted  independence,  are  so 
indisputably  one  with  herself  have  doubtless  accus- 
tomed her  to  the  idea  of  an  underlying  unity  as  nothing 
in  our  experience  has  done.  Moreover,  her  position  in 
Europe,  on  the  firing  line  of  the  great  race  struggle,  has 
taught  her,  as  we  have  not  been  taught,  the  necessity  of 
race  solidarity,  if  the  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  is  to 


142  WORLD  FACTS 

resist  the  dangers  which  threaten  it.  Of  the  whole 
Anglo-Saxon  fellowship,  none  have  felt  so  little,  or  had 
so  little  occasion  to  feel,  the  reality  of  that  fellowship 
as  ourselves." 

However  that  may  be,  both  countries  have  made 
giant  strides  in  mutual  understanding  and  appreciation 
since  April,  1917.  America,  for  one  thing,  has  been 
restudying  her  own  history,  with  the  result  that  we 
are  becoming  just  a  little  ashamed  of  some  of  the  con- 
ceptions of  the  British  Government  and  the  British 
people  which  were  taught  us  in  childhood.  If  the 
historians  of  late  have  not  spoiled  some  of  our  best 
stories  of  Revolutionary  and  pre-Revolutionary  days, 
they  certainly  are  making  havoc  of  some  of  our  pet 
theories.  Here  is  Professor  McLaughhn,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,  speaking  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion as  "2i  critical  incident  in  the  development  of 
British  Liberalism."  He  traces  back  to  the  sixteenth 
century  the  forces  which  expressed  themselves  later  in 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  American 
Constitution,  and  which  he  finds  at  that  early  day  were 
in  confhct  with  the  old  autocratic  and  oligarchal  tra- 
ditions. In  one  of  his  lectures,  given  in  England  in 
the  spring  of  1918,  he  is  reported  as  saying  that  the 
American  Revolution  was  "  the  England  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  arising  to  combat  the  England  of  the 
eighteenth."  ''We,"  he  remarked,  ''were  the  Eng- 
land of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  we  were  inspired 
by  the  principles  of  the  CromwelHan  uprising."^ 

Here,  too,  is  Professor  George  Burton  Adams  of 
Yale,  in  his  "An  Outhne  Sketch  of  Enghsh  Constitu- 

1  New  York  Nation,  July  20,  1918. 


AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  143 

tional  History,"  talking  about  the  ''ecumenic  character 
of  the  EngUsh  Constitution."  He  maintains  that  no 
country  outside  the  British  Empire  is  so  pecuUarly  and 
palpably  English  in  its  laws  and  institutions  as  our 
own.  ''All  of  what  is  fundamental  in  our  political 
system  —  the  supremacy  of  law  over  the  Government, 
the  representative  system,  individual  hberty,  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people  —  is  derived  from  England 
and  from  nowhere  else."  He  urges  that  the  relatively 
superficial  differences  between  a  republic  and  a  con- 
stitutional monarchy  should  not  be  permitted  to  ob- 
scure the  fundamental  unity  which  may  exist. 

These  reinterpretations  of  American  history  have 
their  counterpart  in  certain  British  utterances,  which 
indicate  that  a  new  light  has  begun  to  shine  in  respect 
to  their  dealings  with  us  in  the  past.  Rudyard  Kip- 
ling, for  instance,  speaks  of  the  landing  of  the  Am- 
erican troops  in  England  as  "the  second  voyage  of  the 
Mayflower."  Lord  Balfour  visits  the  United  States  to 
bring  the  greetings  of  the  "homeland,"  seeks  out 
Mount  Vernon,  in  company  with  M.  Viviani,  who  had 
come  from  Italy  on  a  hke  mission,  and  delivers  himself 
in  this  wise: 

"My  friend  and  colleague,  M.  Viviani,  in  phrases 
burning  with  emotion  and  in  eloquent  language,  not 
only  has  paid  tribute  to  the  hero  who  is  buried  here, 
but  has  brought  our  thoughts  down  to  the  present 
crisis,  the  greatest  in  the  world's  history.  He  has 
told  us  of  the  people  of  France,  England,  Belgium, 
Russia,  Italy,  and  Serbia  who  have  sacrificed  their 
lives  for  what  they  beheve  to  be  the  cause  of  hberty. 
No  spot  on  the  face  of  the  earth  where  a  speech  in 
behalf  of  hberty  might  be  made  could  be  more  appro- 
priate than  the  tomb  of  Washington." 


144  WORLD  FACTS 

Most  meaningful  of  all  is  the  report  of  Mr.  William 
T.  Ellis  upon  the  discussion  at  the  National  Council 
of  Free  Churches  in  Great  Britain,  in  the  spring  of 
1918. 

^'The  most  amazing  aspect  of  the  council's  delibera- 
tions/' he  states,  '4n  the  eyes  of  an  American,  was  in 
the  repeated  demonstrations  over  the  place  America 
has  assumed  in  the  moral,  religious,  and  political 
leadership  of  the  War.  With  the  possible  exception 
of  the  Prime  Minister's  address,  the  greatest  demon- 
strations of  the  sessions  were  those  evoked  by  the 
mention  of  Woodrow  Wilson.  .  .  .  The  deep  flowing 
enthusiasm  for  America  may  be  found  among  all 
classes,  from  the  sober  dons  of  Oxford  University  and 
members  of  Parliament,  to  private  soldiers  and  home- 
keeping  women.  .  .  .  'We  gave  America  her  faith, 
her  tongue,  her  ideals,  her  fathers,'  said  the  Council's 
president,  'she  gives  to  us  today  a  great  moral  verdict 
and  a  great  moral  prophet.  We  gave  to  America  her 
sires,  she  is  giving  to  us  her  sons.'"  ''Canada,"  Mr. 
EUis  states,  "was  usually  coupled  with  the  United 
States  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  New  World,  scarcely 
distinguishable  from  ourselves." 

And  so,  under  the  pressure  of  the  titanic  struggle,  we 
have  ironed  out  our  differences  and  come  to  an  under- 
standing of  our  past  and  our  future  at  a  single  stroke. 
Lowell,  in  his  classic  address  on  Democracy,  delivered 
at  Birmingham,  when  he  was  ambassador  to  the  Court 
of  St.  James,  alluded  to  America's  offense  in  British 
eyes  in  that  "we  are  infecting  the  Old  World  with 
what  seems  to  be  thought  the  entirely  new  disease  of 
Democracy."  Lowell  would  not  say  that  even  in 
pleasantry  today. 


AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  145 

The  Fellowship  of  Service 

This  is  the  point  to  which  we  have  been  coming.  It 
is  to  be  a  fellowship  of  service  for  all  mankind  —  Am- 
erica and  Great  Britain,  not  for  themselves,  but  for 
the  world.  Fortunately  the  Anglo-Saxon  people  were 
trained  for  the  step  long  before  the  War  brought  us 
together,  since  the  idea  of  service  is  the  very  basis  of 
our  civilization. 

Several  years  ago  Lord  Russell  of  Killowen  deUvered 
an  address  before  the  American  Bar  Association  in 
Saratoga  in  which  he  gave  this  definition  of  civilization : 
*'Its  true  signs  are  thought  for  the  poor  and  suffering, 
chivalrous  regard  and  respect  for  women,  the  frank 
recognition  of  human  brotherhood,  irrespective  of  race 
or  color  or  nation  or  religion;  the  narrowing  of  the 
domain  of  mere  force  as  a  governing  factor  in  the 
world,  the  love  of  order  and  freedom,  abhorrence  of 
what  is  mean  and  cruel  and  vile,  ceaseless  devotion  to 
the  claims  of  justice." 

Beside  this  noble  utterance  of  the  British  jurist  a 
writer  at  the  time  placed  the  following  words  of  Profes- 
sor WiUiam  James,  the  psychologist,  addressed  to  a 
company  of  New  Englanders  united  in  an  unpopular 
cause : 

''The  great  international  and  cosmopolitan  hberal 
party,  the  party  of  conscience  and  intelUgence  the 
world  over,  has  absorbed  us ;  and  we  are  only  its  Amer- 
ican section,  carrying  on  the  war  against  the  powers  of 
darkness  here,  playing  our  part  in  the  long,  long  cam- 
paign for  truth  and  fair  dealing  which  must  go  on  in 
all  the  countries  of  the  world  until  the  end  of  time. 
Let  us  cheerfully  settle  into   our  interminable  task. 


146  WORLD  FACTS 

Everywhere  it  is  the  same  struggle  under  various 
names  —  light  against  darkness,  right  against  might, 
love  against  hate.  The  Lord  of  Life  is  with  us,  and  we 
cannot  permanently  fail!" 

One  may  be  permitted  to  question  whether  two  such 
statements  as  to  the  deeper  meanings  of  civilization 
could  have  emanated  from  any  other  lands  than 
Britain  and  the  United  States.  In  these  lands  they 
not  only  go  unchallenged,  but  they  are  accepted  as  a 
program  of  development  and  service.  There  is  in  the 
very  fiber  of  Anglo-Saxon  character,  as  it  has  evolved 
under  the  stimulus  of  Uberal  ideas  in  Church  and  State, 
a  passion  for  justice  and  a  capacity  for  heroic  self- 
sacrifice  unparalleled  among  other  people.  It  is  not 
our  boast,  it  is  our  favor.  It  is  our  inheritance  from 
the  Protestant  Reformation  and  the  democratic  move- 
ment of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  Mul- 
titudes among  us  do  not  recognize  these  ideals;  once 
and  again  they  have  been  repudiated  by  national 
action  on  each  side  of  the  water;  yet  the  type  persists 
and  in  times  of  danger  or  world  crises  it  invariably 
comes  to  the  front  as  that  which  hes  deepest  in  our 
character. 

One  is  tempted  to  cite  a  long  list  of  illustrations  in 
support  of  this  claim.  Let  one  suffice,  since  it  is  thor- 
oughly typical,  and  has  a  special  value  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  it  antedates  the  War.  It  is  a  story  of  heroism 
at  sea.  A  British  captain  saihng  from  New  York  to  an 
Oriental  port,  laid  a  course  to  the  southward,  well  into 
the  region  of  the  South  Atlantic.  He  had  an  American 
as  first  mate  and  a  motley  crew  of  English,  French, 
Spanish,  Portuguese,  ItaUans,  Greeks,  Russians,  repre- 


AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  147 

senting  almost  every  nation  of  Europe  and  some  of 
Asia.  During  a  storm,  when  the  situation  was  rendered 
more  perilous  because  of  floating  masses  of  ice,  a 
Chinaman  was  washed  overboard.  The  American 
mate  offered  to  go  to  the  rescue  and  the  captain  called 
for  volunteers.  While  the  boat  was  being  prepared  the 
mate  sought  to  rid  himself  of  the  thick  boots  in  which 
he  was  encased,  and  the  captain  came  to  his  relief  with 
his  knife.  Unfortunately  in  the  confusion  and  haste 
of  the  moment  the  mate's  leg  was  cut  so  severely  that 
his  going  with  the  party  was  out  of  the  question. 
Immediately  his  place  was  taken  by  the  second  mate 
and  the  boat  was  lowered  away.  The  first  mate,  who 
tells  the  story,  looked  over  the  side  of  the  ship  to  see 
who  had  volunteered  for  the  perilous  trip.  He  counted 
ten  men  in  the  boat,  and  every  one  was  an  Englishman. 
For  the  saving  of  that  humble  Chinaman  they  pushed 
out  upon  the  boisterous  Arctic  sea;  and  they  never 
came  back.  There  you  have  the  Anglo-Saxon  in  his 
most  characteristic  attitude.  The  world  will  be  safe 
in  his  hands. 

Anglo-Saxon  Resources 

Some  twenty  years  ago  every  one  was  reading  a 
book  called  '' Anglo-Saxon  Superiority,"  by  the  French- 
man, Edmond  DemoUns,  which  went  through  ten 
editions  and  became  the  favorite  subject  for  leading 
editorials,  discussions  at  the  club,  and  college  debates. 
The  book  may  well  be  reread  in  the  Ught  of  what  has 
happened  since.  Demolins  argued  for  the  superiority 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  people  on  both  side  of  the  water  by 
reason  of  their  educational  system,  their  home  hfe, 


148  WORLD  FACTS 

their  financial  method,  their  recreations,  their  ideals  of 
patriotism.  He  convinced  himself,  and  possibly  a  good 
many  of  his  countrymen,  that  through  these  means 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  especially  the  EngUsh,  were 
producing  a  superior  type  of  manhood  based  on  the 
independence  of  private  life.  The  book  made  much 
of  the  '^  extraordinary  power  of  expansion  of  that  race 
which  seems  destined  to  succeed  the  Roman  Empire  in 
the  government  of  the  world." 

From  our  standpoint  of  a  fellowship  of  service  rather 
than  of  sovereignty,  it  is  interesting  to  note  Demolins' 
emphasis  upon  the  fact  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  succeed 
in  domesticating  themselves  in  whatever  part  of  the 
world  they  settle.  ''Other  nations,"  he  says,  ''such 
as  France,  Germany,  Italy,  Spain  also  have  colonies, 
but  these  are  mostly  colonies  of  officials;  they  exer- 
cise a  military  dominion  over  some  territories  but  they 
do  not  populate  them,  they  do  not  transform  them, 
they  do  not  take  root  in  them  like  the  Anglo-Saxon 
colonies.  .  .  .  Men  of  this  race  have  no  sooner 
estabUshed  themselves  on  any  spot  in  the  world  than 
they  transform  it,  by  introducing,  with  marvelous 
rapidity,  the  latest  progressive  innovations  of  our 
European  communities."  ^  In  the  fight  of  this  tribute, 
whose  essential  accuracy  is  not  likely  to  be  challenged, 
we  may  expect  that  each  area  on  the  world's  map 
occupied  by  the  English  or  the  Americans,  or  coming 
under  their  influence,  will  become  a  center  for  the 
spread  of  the  type  of  civilization  which  these  nations 
represent. 

Having  this  possibifity  in  mind,  let  us  look  for  a 

2  "Anglo-Saxon  Superiority  ";  Preface  to  French  Edition. 


AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  149 

moment  at  the  material  resources  of  the  Anglo-Amer- 
ican combination. 

1.  Geographical  Expansion,  Sir  Ramsay  Muir  in 
his  ''Expansion  of  Europe"  claims  that  the  British 
Empire  is  the  greatest  dominion  that  has  ever  existed 
in  history,  covering  as  it  does  a  quarter  of  the  earth's 
surface  and  embracing  such  an  array  of  races  and 
nationalities.  He  characterizes  it  as  the  Roman  Em- 
pire of  the  modern  world.  If  to  the  British  Empire  we 
add  the  territory  occupied  or  controlled  by  the  United 
States  we  have  a  total  area  of  over  17,000,000  square 
miles,  or  about  one-third  of  the  earth's  surface.  The 
complete  occupation  of  North  America,  aside  from 
Mexico  and  the  Central]  American  states,  is  a  fact  of 
immense  significance.  The  increasing  influence  of  the 
United  States  throughout  South  America  is  a  com- 
panion fact  of  importance.  The  British  Empire  in 
Africa  alone,  before  the  War,  was  more  than  three 
times  as  large  as  the  colonial  empire  of  Germany, 
wliich  was  almost  hmited  to  Africa.  Britain's  hold 
upon  India  need  not  be  emphasized  in  its  bearings 
upon  the  welfare  of  Asia.  The  occupation  of  island 
groups  in  the  Atlantic,  Pacific,  and  Indian  Oceans,  and 
especially  the  ownership  of  Austraha,  adds  immeas- 
urably to  the  opportunity  for  world  service.  A 
careful  study  of  the  map  printed  as  the  frontispiece  to 
this  volume  is  recommended  as  suggesting  the  strategic 
scattering  of  our  forces  for  human  welfare. 

2.  Number  and  Variety  of  Population.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  British  Empire,  according  to  ''The 
Statesman's  Year  Book,"  is  443,547,000.  If  we  allow 
110,000,000  for  the  United  States  and  her  dependen- 


150  WORLD  FACTS 

cies,  we  have  a  total  population  of  553,547,000  for  the 
two  powers,  which  is  just  about  one-third  the  popula- 
tion of  the  globe.  Equally  impressive  is  the  variety  of 
peoples  brought  together  in  this  fellowship  of  hberty. 
We  call  America  the  melting-pot  of  the  world.  While 
we  have  been  welcoming  to  our  shores  all  the  races  of 
the  world,  the  British  have  gone  out  to  these  races  and 
been  welcomed  by  them.  Could  there  be  a  better 
preparation  for  a  partnership  of  good  works  on  a 
world  scale? 

3.  The  Extent  of  the  English  Language.  A  German 
delegate  at  the  Edinburgh  Missionary  Conference  com- 
plained good-naturedly  against  what  he  called  the 
Anglo-American  revision  of  Christ's  last  command,  by 
which  they  made  it  read,  ''Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
teach  the  English  language  to  every  creature."  A 
considerable  basis  of  truth  underlay  his  remark,  and  the 
intervening  years  have  made  this  truth  more  conspic- 
uous than  ever.  Enghsh  is  rapidly  becoming  the 
universal  tongue.  What  Greek  was  to  the  Roman 
Empire  and  French  to  the  Europe  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  English  is  becoming  to  the  world  of  today. 
Already  the  higher  educational  courses  of  mission 
schools  in  China,  India,  many  parts  of  Africa,  and  in 
the  Moslem  world  are  conducted  in  this  tongue.  An 
impressive  amount  of  good  literature  in  English  is 
being  put  forth  by  mission  presses  throughout  Africa 
and  Asia.  There  are  said  to  be  not  less  than  300,000 
people  in  the  city  of  Cairo  alone  who  can  be  reached 
in  our  own  tongue. 

4.  Supremacy  in  Wealth.  America  possesses  about 
one-third  the  wealth  of  the  civiUzed  world.     Add  the 


AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  151 

wealth  of  Great  Britain  and  we  have  considerably 
more  than  one-half  of  civihzation's  resources  in  the 
hands  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  Figures  as  to  world 
wealth  put  out  by  statisticians  are  not  above  suspicion 
as  to  reliabihty,  but  they  at  least  suggest  the  relative 
rating  of  the  leading  powers.  The  most  convincing 
tabulation  we  have  seen  is  that  of  the  National  Bank 
of  Commerce  of  New  York,  as  amended  by  a  well- 
known  authority  on  international  finance.  The  figures 
are  of  the  period  immediately  preceding  the  War. 

Great  Britain $150,000,000,000. 

United  States 220,000,000,000. 

France 70,000,000,000. 

Germany 75,000,000,000. 

In  the  matter  of  commerce  the  supremacy  of  the 
Anglo-American  people  is  so  marked  as  to  make  figures 
of  other  nations  look  ashamed. 

5.  Missionary  Support.  We  are  concerned  at  this 
point  only  with  the  financial  aspects  of  the  missionary 
enterprise.  The  showing  is  far  from  what  it  should  be, 
but  it  emphasizes  Anglo-American  leadership  in  an 
impressive  manner.  We  find  that  out  of  a  total  of 
$30,688,657  given  for  Protestant  foreign  missionary 
work  throughout  the  world  during  1917,  $19,166,864 
was  contributed  by  the  United  States,  $1,240,997  by 
Canada,  and  $8,299,241  by  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
—  a  total  for  the  Anglo-Saxons  of  $28,707,102  as  com- 
pared with  $1,981,555  for  Continental  Europe. 

These  are  gratifying  but  sobering  considerations. 
Who  can  question  our  preponderance  in  world  affairs? 
Who  can  doubt  that  the  Anglo-American  people  are 
set  for  great  things  in  behalf  of  humanity? 


152  WORLD  FACTS 


Shoulder  to  Shoulder 


He  would  be  a  bold  prophet,  indeed,  who  attempted 
to  forecast  in  detail  the  benefits  which  the  world  is 
likely  to  receive  from  America's  partnership  with  Great 
Britain  in  good  works.  The  best  we  can  do  is  to  point 
out  certain  spheres  of  usefulness  which  he  within  our 
reach.  Rehgiously,  we  should  be  able  to  secure  full 
toleration  for  Christianity  in  regions  like  Arabia, 
Turkestan,  Afghanistan,  Tibet,  Nepal,  and  the  Moham- 
medan sections  of  the  Sudan,  where  now  for  the  most 
part  the  Christian  message  is  not  allowed.  Educa- 
tionally, acting  through  mission  boards  and  philan- 
thropic agencies,  we  should  be  able  to  help  newly- 
formed  democracies  hke  Russia  and  China  to  that 
intelligence  without  which  popular  government  is 
foredoomed  to  failure.  Socially,  it  should  be  possible 
for  us  to  lift  up  the  poor  and  oppressed  and  to  secure 
proper  position  and  opportunity  for  the  women  of  the 
backward  races.  In  the  realm  of  physical  betterment, 
we  should  take  the  lead  in  ridding  the  world  of  unneces- 
sary disease,  in  alleviating  suffering,  and  in  developing 
scientifically  the  resources  of  the  earth. 

Just  now  the  maintaining  of  peace  on  a  permanent 
basis  occupies  the  thought  of  the  world.  Whatever 
league  of  nations  may  be  formed,  it  will  be  to  America 
and  Great  Britain  that  the  injured  nations  will  look 
for  the  most  just  and  sympathetic  treatment.  We 
are  better  situated  than  any  other  group  for  mediation 
and  friendly  intervention.  Said  the  New  York  finan- 
cier. Otto  H.  Kahn,  upon  his  return  from  Europe  in  the 
summer  of  1918,  ''Whatever  betide,  the  world  will  be 


AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  153 

safe  for  peace,  humanity,  and  liberty  as  long  as  America 
and  Great  Britain,  understanding  and  trusting  one 
another,  stand  on  guard  for  any  length  of  time." 
Above  all,  America  and  Great  Britain  will  stand  not 
only  for  peace,  but  for  the  Gospel  of  peace  —  peace 
based  upon  righteousness  and  good  will  among  men. 

The  Open  Door 

It  is  difficult  to  say  these  things  without  implying,  on 
the  one  hand,  that  we  are  disregardful  of  a  nation  like 
France,  which  has  suffered  and  fought  so  nobly  for  the 
ideals  of  the  Allies,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  we 
claim  for  the  Anglo-Saxons  the  very  domination  which 
we  refuse  to  the  Teutonic  peoples.  As  for  France, 
America's  admiration  and  gratitude  knows  no  bounds. 
It  has  been  expressed  and  demonstrated  in  every  pos- 
sible way  and  it  will  abide  through  all  the  years  to 
come,  one  of  the  most  precious  heritages  of  the  War. 
But  when  we  consider  the  days  which  lie  ahead  and 
reckon  with  the  forces  which  must  reshape  the  world, 
we  would  be  false  to  our  deepest  convictions  if  we  did 
not  turn  to  England  rather  than  to  France.  After  all, 
she  is  our  own  kin. 

The  War  has  changed  many  things,  but  it  has  not 
changed  racial  character  and  temperament,  nor  has  it 
annulled  the  results  of  natural  evolutions.  England's 
democracy,  in  which  we  share,  has  behind  it  seven 
centuries  of  fairly  consistent  development  from  the 
time  of  the  Magna  Charta.  France's  democracy  dates 
from  the  battle  of  Sedan  in  1870;  or  at  the  farthest 
from  the  French  Revolution. 

John  Stuart  Mill,  in  his  ''Considerations  on  Repre- 


154  WORLD  FACTS 

sentative  Government"  maintained  that  the  French 
are  essentially  a  Southern  people,  the  product  of  the 
double  education  of  despotism  and  Catholicism.  Mill 
wrote  his  treatise  in  1860  and  his  ideas  may  not  have 
lost  the  tinge  they  received  thirty  years  before,  when 
he  visited  France  at  the  time  of  the  July  revolution. 
Undoubtedly  he  had  a  certain  amount  of  British  prej- 
udice. But  making  all  due  allowance,  his  character- 
ization remains  sound. 

We  do  not  minimize  the  splendid  qualities  which 
have  come  to  the  front  among  the  French  people  in 
their  struggle  against  German  barbarism,  if  we  say 
that  we  do  not  as  yet  find  in  them  the  same  moral  and 
spiritual  sympathies  which  we  associate  with  the 
British.  It  was  Mill,  by  the  way,  who  differentiated 
the  French  from  the  British  by  the  phrases  which 
spring  to  the  lips  of  the  two  peoples  when  reacting  to 
calamity.  '^It  has  been  remarked,"  he  says,  ''that 
whenever  anything  goes  amiss,  the  habitual  impulse  of 
the  French  people  is  to  say,  'II  faut  de  la  patience,' 
and  of  the  English  people,  'What  a  shame.'"  MilFs 
comment  is:  "The  people  who  think  it  a  shame  when 
anything  goes  wrong,  who  rush  to  the  conclusion  that 
evil  could  and  ought  to  have  been  prevented,  are 
those,  who,  in  the  long  run  do  most  to  make  the  world 
better."  It  would  seem  to  accord  with  these  ob- 
servations that  British  and  American  missionary  en- 
terprises have  never  flourished  under  the  French 
flag. 

As  for  any  complaint  from  Germany  that  we  selfishly 
seek  to  substitute  our  rule  for  theirs,  that  we  "want  the 
EngUshman  on  top  instead  of  the  German  on  top," 


AMERICA  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  155 

Dr.  Powers  disposes  of  the  matter  in  a  highly  satis- 
factory manner : 

*'No,  what  we  want  is  the  EngHsh  principle  on  top 
instead  of  the  German.  That  principle  is  the  principle 
of  fellowship,  not  of  feudalism.  It  leaves  each  one 
free  to  hve  liis  own  life  and  think  his  own  thoughts 
and  go  his  own  ways,  and  sees  the  power  and  the 
greatness  of  the  fellowship  in  this  hberty  of  its  members. 
It  is  not  as  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  to  a 
dominant  nation  that  the  United  States  and  Australia 
and  Canada  take  their  place  alongside  Britain  in  the 
great  Anglo-Saxon  fellowship.  It  is  not  'submission  to 
our  supreme  direction '  to  which  Germany  must  consent 
as  a  condition  of  making  common  cause.  Only  under 
this  freer  organization,  of  which  Britain  has  given  to 
the  world  the  first  working  demonstration,  can  we  hope 
to  be  ourselves  —  can  Germany  herself  hope  to  find  her 
place  in  the  sun." 

The  door  is  open  wide  for  any  nation,  great  or  small, 
which  wishes  to  join  the  Anglo-Saxon  fellowship  of  serv- 
ice. We  claim  no  monopoly  for  interdependence,  for 
the  privilege  of  helping  the  weak.  Undoubtedly  as  the 
years  pass  we  shall  find  points  of  contact  with  kindred 
souls  in  other  lands  —  an  increasing  number  —  and  so 
develop  a  steadily  broadening  unity  among  the  nations. 
France  and  Russia  should  particularly  inchne  our  way. 
Akeady  Japan  has  stated  through  Count  Ishii  that  she 
has  definitely  decided  to  throw  in  her  lot  with  the 
EngUsh-speaking  people.  There  is  room  for  all,  even 
for  Germany,  when  she  has  repented  of  her  sins. 

The  process  of  working  out  a  program  of  cooperation 
between  America  and  Great  Britain  will  not  be  an  easy 
one;  many  difficulties  will  arise,  all  sorts  of  old  and 
new  rivalries  will  appear;  we  may  expect  storms  along 


156  WORLD  FACTS 

the  way.  But  into  the  fellowship  of  service  we  have 
already  entered  and  we  will  see  it  through  to  the  end. 
To  the  writer  there  came  an  inspiring  vision  of  these 
great  democracies  of  the  West  working  forever  in 
union  when  looking  at  a  photograph  of  the  Parhament 
buildings  in  London.  The  picture  was  taken  on  July  4, 
1917,  which  someone  has  happily  called  '^Interdepen- 
dence Day."  It  showed  the  flags  of  the  United  States 
and  of  Great  Britain  flying  from  the  great  tower  of 
Westminister  Hall,  not  on  separate  staffs  but  on  the 
same  staff,  not  one  above  the  other,  but  side  by  side. 
Moreover,  the  two  banners  were  so  interblended  by  the 
wind  that  you  could  scarcely  distinguish  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  from  the  Union  Jack.  Fit  emblem  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  union !  Let  the  gales  of  difficulty  and  adversity 
blow  as  they  may,  the  two  nations  will  cling  the  closer 
to  their  fellowship  of  service  for  mankind. 


FACT  VIII 

DEMOCRACY    BECOMES     THE     ORGANIZING 
PRINCIPLE    OF    THE    WORLD 

Politically,  the  greatest  fact  of  our  age  is  the  world- 
wide extension  of  democracy.  The  war  which  was 
planned  and  launched  by  the  greatest  miUtary  power 
of  history  for  the  purpose  of  making  autocracy  supreme 
in  the  earth  ends  by  establishing  the  opposite  principle. 
Humanity  has  registered  an  overwhelming  verdict  in 
favor  of  popular  govermnent. 

It  will  help  us  to  appreciate  this  extraordinary  re- 
sult if  we  Hst  in  chronological  order  the  events  of  the 
war  period  which  bear  directly  upon  the  growth  of 
democratic  institutions. 

The  March  of  Events 

Dec.  12,  1915.  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  President  of  the 
Chinese  RepubUc,  with  the  connivance  of  the  Legisla- 
tive Council  and  after  a  fake  election,  abohshed  the 
republic  and  placed  himself  upon  the  throne  as  Emperor. 

June  6,  1916.  Upon  the  death  of  Yuan  Shih  Kai, 
the  repubUc  was  restored  and  Li  Yuan  Himg  was 
elected  President. 

1916-1917.  At  various  times  during  these  years  the 
following  provinces  of  Canada  gave  the  suffrage  to 
women:  Alberta,  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  Ontario, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  British  Columbia.    The  Dominion 

157 


158  WORLD  FACTS 

Parliament  also  passed  a  bill  giving  women  the  right  to 
vote  in  national  elections. 

Feb.  5,  1917.  Promulgation  of  a  new  constitution 
for  Mexico,  establishing  the  country  on  a  more  genu- 
inely democratic  basis  and  making  possible  the  resump- 
tion of  sympathetic  relations  with  the  United  States. 

Feb.  20,  1917.  Passage  of  an  act  by  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  admitting  to  citizenship  the  people 
of  Porto  Rico  and  granting  universal  male  suffrage. 

March  15,  16,  1917.  Under  pressure  from  the 
Duma,  Czar  Nicholas  II  of  Russia  abdicated  and  the 
government  was  provisionally  vested  in  an  executive 
committee,  in  cooperation  with  the  council  of  ministers. 

March  21,  1917.  The  first  meeting  of  the  Imperial 
War  Conference  was  held  in  London.  This  conference 
was  composed  of  delegates  from  all  the  Dominions  of 
the  British  Empire,  practically  constituting  an  Imperial 
Cabinet  for  the  period  of  the  War. 

March  22,  1917.  The  new  Russian  Government  was 
formally  recognized  by  the  United  States. 

May  16,  1917.  Lloyd  George,  on  behalf  of  the 
British  Government,  offered  to  apply  Home  Rule  to 
Ireland,  excluding  the  six  Ulster  counties,  and  propos- 
ing as  an  alternative  an  Irish  convention  to  arrange  a 
scheme  of  self-government. 

June  2,  1917.  King  Constantine  of  Greece  issued  a 
proclamation  declaring  his  abdication  and  left  Athens, 
together  with  the  Queen  and  the  former  Crown  Prince. 

June  — ,  1917.  The  province  of  the  Trans-Cau- 
casus declared  independence  of  Russia  and  elected  a 
diet  representing  both  the  Christian  and  the  Moham- 
medan populations. 


DEMOCRACY  ORGANIZING  PRINCIPLE     159 

June  19,  1917.  The  Russian  Orthodox  Church 
undertook  a  reorganization  in  the  direction  of  a  democ- 
racy. Many  parishes  assumed  the  function  of  electing 
the  clergy.  Twelve  bishops,  including  those  of  Petro- 
grad  and  Moscow,  were  elected  by  popular  vote.  Plans 
were  formed  looking  to  the  estabhshment  of  a  repre- 
sentative national  assembly  which  shall  have  the 
power  of  electing  the  Holy  Synod.  The  Great  Sobor 
of  the  Russian  Church  was  assembled  for  the  first 
time  since  1682,  being  attended  by  over  1,000  delegates, 
the  representation  being  equally  divided  between 
priests  and  laymen. 

June  19,  1917.  A  bill  was  passed  by  the  British 
ParHament  granting  the  suffrage  to  women. 

July  1,  1917.  General  Chang  Hsun  at  the  head  of  a 
section  of  the  Chinese  Army  reestabUshed  the  Manchu 
Dynasty,  proclaiming  Hsuan  Tung,  Elmperor. 

July  12,  1917.  The  forces  under  General  Chang 
Hsun  were  overthrown  and  the  repubhc  was  reestab- 
Ushed. 

July  20,  1917.  Alexander  Kerensky  became  the 
Russian  Premier. 

September  15,  1917.  The  Russian  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment proclaimed  a  republic. 

September  — ,  1917.  Germany  suggested  to  Poland 
the  appointment  of  three  Regents,  who  should  have 
power  to  control  the  internal  affairs  of  their  country. 

October  — ,  1917.  The  Russian  Government  took 
steps  looking  toward  the  election  of  a  constituent 
assembly. 

November  7,  1917.  The  extreme  socialist  faction  of 
the  Russian  Revolutionists,  known  as  the  Bolsheviks, 


160  WORLD  FACTS 

under  the  leadership  of  Lenhie  and  Trotsky  aided  by 
the  Petrograd  garrison,  seized  the  reins  of  government 
and  deposed  Kerensky  and  the  members  of  his  cabinet, 
offering  an  immediate  peace,  the  distribution  of  lands 
to  the  peasants,  and  the  transfer  of  all  authority  to  the 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldier's  Delegates. 

December  19,  1917.  The  Province  of  Ukrania, 
through  its  constituent  assembly,  demanded  from  the 
Bolsheviks  recognition  of  the  Ukranian  RepubUc. 

December  28,  1917.  The  British  Labour  Party 
issued  its  statement  of  war  aims,  later  endorsed  by  the 
sociahst  and  labor  parties  of  Great  Britain,  France, 
Italy  and  Belgium,  calling  for  the  complete  democra- 
tization of  all  countries,  the  removal  of  all  arbitrary 
political  powers,  the  maintenance  of  legislatures 
elected  by  and  in  behalf  of  the  sovereign  right  of  the 
people,  the  suppression  of  secret  diplomacy,  and  the 
formation  of  a  League  of  Nations.  Associated  with 
the  above  declaration  is  the  program  of  the  British 
labor  leaders  looking  to  a  new  national  party  for  the 
purpose  of  reconstructing  the  British  Empire  into  a 
commonwealth  of  free  men  and  women  who  derive  the 
independence  of  their  lives  and  the  dignity  of  their 
social  position  from  the  amount  and  quahty  of  their 
work,  whether  intellectual  or  manual,  rather  than  from 
birth  or  inheritance. 

1917.  At  various  times  during  this  year  the  suffrage 
was  granted  to  women  in  Russia,  in  Holland,  and  in 
six  states  in  the  United  States. 

1918.  Early  in  the  year  an  All- Armenian  Congress 
was  held  in  Erivan,  in  the  Trans-Caucasus,  at  which 
steps  were  taken  in  the  direction  of  applying  demo- 


DEMOCRACY  ORGANIZINX^  PRINCIPLE     161 

cratic  principles  to  the  ancient  Gregorian  Church. 
The  control  of  church  property  is  to  pass  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  bishops  into  those  of  the  local  congrega- 
tions. The  general  conferences  of  the  church  are  to 
have  both  lay  and  clerical  representation.  The  liturgy 
is  to  be  rendered  in  the  tongue^of  the  people  and  women 
are  to  be  placed  upon  an  equahty  with  men  in  the 
conduct  of  worship. 

March  2,  1918.  A  treaty  was  signed  between  Russia 
and  Finland,  establishing  the  independence  of  Finland 
as  a  republic. 

March  3,  1918.  The  Bolsheviks  signed  the  treaty  of 
Brest-Litovsk  with  Germany,  thereby  betraying  Russia 
into  the  hands  of  her  enemies. 

July  4,  1918.  President  Wilson  delivered  a  speech 
at  Mt.  Vernon  upon  the  aims  of  the  War,  in  which  he 
called  for  "the  destruction  of  every  arbitrary  power 
anywhere  that  can  separately,  secretly,  and  of  its  own 
choice  disturb  the  peace  of  the  world." 

July  17,  1918.  Edwin  S.  Montague,  Secretary  for 
India,  and  Baron  Chelmsford,  Viceroy  and  Governor- 
General  of  India,  submitted  to  the  British  Parliament  a 
Home  Rule  scheme  for  India,  looking  to  provincial 
legislatures  to  be  composed  of  directly  elected  repre- 
sentatives, a  Viceregal  Legislature  for  all  India,  an 
Indian  Privy  Council,  and  a  Council  of  Princes. 

September  29,  1918.  As  a  result  of  industrial  and 
political  conditions  in  Japan,  the  Terauchi  government 
was  overthrown  and  the  control  passed  to  a  new 
cabinet,  with  democratic  leanings,  of  which  Mr.  Hara 
is  Prime  Minister. 

October  3,   1918.     King  Ferdinand  of  Bulgaria  an- 


162  WORLD  FACTS 

nounced  his  relinquishment  of  his  throne  in  favor  of  his 
son,  Crown  Prince  Boris. 

October  14,  1918.  President  Wilson  replied  to  the 
peace  overtures  of  Germany,  directing  their  attention 
to  the  passage  in  his  speech  of  July  4,  1918,  in  which 
he  called  for  ''the  destruction  of  every  arbitrary/ 
power  anywhere  that  can  separately,  secretly,  and  of 
its  own  choice  disturb  the  peace  of  the  world,"  and 
charging  that  the  ''power  which  has  hitherto  controlled 
the  German  nation"  answers  this  description. 

October  18,  1918.  The  Czecho-Slovak  nation,  having 
been  recognized  by  the  Entente  Allies,  through  its 
provisional  government  issued  a  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence and  proclaimed  itself  a  republic. 

November  2,  1918.  King  Boris,  of  Bulgaria,  after  a 
reign  of  twenty-seven  days,  announced  his  abdication, 
and  a  peasant  government  was  established  on  a  repub- 
lican basis. 

November  2,  1918.  Emperor  Charles  of  Austria 
handed  over  the  supreme  command  of  the  armies  to 
Field  Marshall  Koevess,  after  refusing  to  sign  an 
armistice  with  the  Allies,  and  quitted  his  throne 
amid  chaos. 

November  6,  1918.  The  officers  of  the  new  republi- 
can government  of  the  Jugo-Slavs  took  the  oath  of 
office  at  Agram,  immediately  constituting  a  national 
assembly. 

November  8,  1918.  King  Ludwig  of  Bavaria  was 
deposed  at  a  sitting  of  the  Diet  at  Munich. 

November  9,  1918.  Kaiser  Wilhelm  II  of  Germany 
announced  his  abdication  and  the  Crown  Prince 
renounced  his  succession  to  the  throne,  with  the  nation 


DEMOCRACY  ORGANIZING  PRINCIPLE     163 

in  the  midst  of  revolution  and  the  armies  of  the  Allies 
at  its  gates.  There  followed  in  the  next  few  days  the 
abdication  of  sundry  minor  German  princes  and  the 
setting  up  of  a  Sociahstic  government  at  Berlin,  claim- 
ing to  be  repubhcan  in  form.  The  subsequent  de- 
velopments in  the  German  and  Austrian  Empires  are 
too  uncertain  and  obscure  to  warrant  the  dating  or 
characterizing  of  specific  events. 

November  22,  1918.  King  Albert  of  Belgium,  having 
reentered  his  capital,  in  the  presence  of  British  and 
American  army  officers,  made  a  speech  from  the  throne 
proposing  equal  suffrage  for  all  men  of  mature  age  and 
removing  all  civil  distinctions  between  the  Flemings 
and  Walloons. 

To  the  above  chronology  of  the  democratic  move- 
ment during  the  war  years  should  be  added  the  strong 
trend  in  that  direction  in  the  Norse  countries.  No 
dates  can  be  mentioned  in  this  connection,  nor  can 
specific  events  be  quoted,  but  it  is  known  that  a  well- 
defined  movement  has  arisen  in  Norway,  Sweden,  and 
Denmark,  looking  to  an  enlargement  of  popular  rule. 
Mr.  Maurice  Francis  Egan,  the  United  States  minister 
to  Denmark,  has  been  studying  the  changes  of  opinion 
in  Scandinavian  countries  and  in  a  recent  address 
before  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Letters 
expressed  the  conviction  that  the  trend  of  opinion 
among  the  Norsemen  is  setting  towards  a  repubhcan 
system, 

The  Sweep  of  the  Democratic  Movement 

On  every  side  it  is  recognized  that  a  tidal  wave  of 
democracy  is  sweeping  over  the  world.     Study  the 


164  WORLD   FACTS 

above  list  geographically  and  note  the  lands  where  the 
free  government  idea  has  gained  the  ascendancy. 
The  tabulation  includes  not  only  the  United  States, 
Great  Britain,  France,  Russia,  Holland,  Scandinavia, 
and  Germany,  but  also  Japan,  China,  India,  Armenia, 
and  Mexico. 

Study  the  Hst  from  the  sociological  point  of  view  and 
note  the  departments  of  Hfe  which  are  affected  — 
political,  economic,  rehgious.  The  sweeping  changes 
proposed  in  the  suffrage  of  countries  hke  England  and 
the  United  States  are  matched  by  the  economic  pro- 
posals put  forth  by  the  British  Labour  Party,  looking 
to  a  commonwealth  of  those  who  work.  Industrial 
democracy  is  no  longer  an  academic  theme.  It  is  in 
the  arena  of  world  forces,  struggling  for  recognition 
and  control.  English  statesmen,  men  of  the  old  school, 
admit  that  hitherto  labor  has  been  exploited  at  home 
and  abroad  and  that  the  time  has  come  for  a  fairer 
division  of  the  good  things  of  hfe.  Africa  must  no 
longer  be  regarded  as  a  mere  labor  market  for  the 
white  man's  projects.  Consider  the  religious  changes 
impending  —  the  Russian  Church  holding  elections, 
the  Armenian  bishops  voting  popular  reforms. 

Everywhere  the  world  is  on  fire  with  the  spirit  of 
liberty.  '^ Autocracy  must  go"  was  the  common  in- 
terpretation placed  upon  President  Wilson's  note  to 
Germany,  demanding  the  abolition  of  all  arbitrary  rule. 
In  its  deepest  significance  the  War  was  the  result  of 
two  principles  of  government  competing  for  the  con- 
trol of  the  world.  Each  had  reached  such  proportions 
that  the  world  was  not  large  enough  to  hold  them  both. 
Democracy,  resting  upon  justice  and  truth,  was  con- 


DEMOCRACY  ORGANIZING  PRINCIPLE      165 

tent  to  wait  for  the  slow  but  sure  process  of  human 
enhghtenment.  Autocracy,  resting  upon  brute 
strength,  undertook  to  subdue  the  world  by  force  of 
arms.  The  effort  was  foredoomed  to  failure.  It  came 
a  century  and  a  half  too  late  in  human  history.  The 
forces  of  democracy  rose  en  masse  and  said,  ''Let  us 
settle  this  thing  here  and  now  and  for  all  time."  And 
beyond  peradventure,  it  has  been  settled  —  for  every 
section  of  the  earth,  for  every  department  of  hfe. 
Hereafter  the  modern  world  will  stand  for  no  hier- 
archies, whether  political,  social,  or  ecclesiastical. 

Historians  will  undoubtedly  consider  1918  as  the 
high-water  mark  of  hberty.  But  note  what  happened 
in  1917.  Twenty  of  the  thirty-eight  listed  events 
occurred  in  that  year.  We  may  say  that  the  world 
made  more  progress  towards  freedom  during  those 
twelve  months  than  in  any  century  of  history.  Prac- 
tically all  the  important  steps  of  progress  were  taken 
after  the  Russian  Revolution  of  March  15,  1917,  and 
may  be  considered  to  have  hinged  upon  that  stupen- 
dous event.  It  is  well  to  bear  this  in  mind,  in  view  of 
the  horrors  which  have  characterized  the  rule  of  the 
Bolsheviks.  Russia's  break  with  autocracy  not  only 
defined  the  issue  of  the  Allies,  removing  the  last  rem- 
nant of  excuse  on  the  part  of  any  freedom-loving 
country  for  keeping  out  of  war;  but  it  awakened 
the  slumbering  forces  of  liberty  throughout  the  world. 
Asia  felt  it  in  every  fiber  of  her  being.  Latin  America 
could  not  deny  its  significance.  To  America  it  was 
the  very  summons  of  God.  By  all  means  let  us  honor 
1917. 


166  WORLD  FACTS 

The  Deep  Roots  of  Democracy 

In  Cambridge  University,  England,  there  is  a 
library  of  60,000  volumes,  all  bearing  upon  the  problem 
of  human  hberty.  Viscount  Morley,  in  his  ''Recol- 
lections," tells  how  Lord  Acton  amassed  this  wealth 
of  Uterature  from  many  ages  and  lands  in  the  hope 
that  it  might  help  toward  the  substitution  of  freedom 
for  force  in  the  government  of  men.  It  was  a  generous 
and  noble  idea,  even  if  the  collection  has  had  no  vital 
bearing  upon  the  universal  platform  of  liberty  which  is 
now  being  promulgated.  What  the  hbrary  does  for 
us  is  to  bear  silent  witness  to  the  historical  processes 
which  he  behind  the  achievements  of  the  past  five  years. 
Sixty  thousand  books  to  describe  the  struggles  of  the 
race  upwards  toward  freedom!  Perhaps  if  the  Kaiser 
had  immersed  himself  in  the  Acton  Library  he  would 
have  been  restrained  from  his  mad  adventure. 

These  years  of  vv^ar  have  revealed  how  deeply  the 
roots  of  liberty  penetrate  into  the  human  soil.  They 
have  brought  to  the  front  a  capacity  for  sacrifice  in 
behalf  of  freedom  which  no  one  seems  to  have  sus- 
pected. In  no  other  way  can  we  account  for  the 
sudden,  the  spontaneous,  the  overwhelming  uprising  of 
the  forces  of  freedom  throughout  the  world.  We  have 
seen  that  it  was  not  a  matter  exclusively  of  the  civilized 
parts  of  the  earth,  since  Africa  and  Asia  have  fought 
by  the  side  of  Europe  and  America.  It  is  a  matter  of 
the  human  creature  as  such.  Lord  Morley  has  said 
that  democracy  has  its  roots  in  the  nature  of  things. 
In  one  of  the  mission  schools  of  Shanghai  a  Chinese 
girl  recently  wrote  an  essay  on  ''Liberty,  EquaHty, 


DEMOCRACY  ORGANIZING  PRINCIPLE     167 

Fraternity,  Inherent  in  the  Idea  of  Man.'^  The 
Chinese  peasant  girl  and  the  most  cultured  of  the 
Enghsh  statesmen  and  writers  are  found  standing  on 
the  same  platform.  Before  the  War  such  sentiments 
would  have  been  challenged  in  many  quarters  —  not  so 
today. 

It  is  extraordinary  how  the  nations,  especially  those 
of  the  East,  have  refused  to  be  governed  by  the  theories 
of  statesmen  and  poUtical  philosophers.  The  states- 
men had  it  all  figured  out  that  China  was  unfit  for 
democracy.  They  maintained  that  scarcely  one  quaU- 
fication  for  popular  government  on  a  national  scale  was 
to  be  found  among  the  Chinese.  ''How  can  you  have 
a  republic  without  repubUcans?"  The  theorists,  both 
within  and  without  the  country,  almost  to  a  man, 
endorsed  Yuan  Shih  Kai's  Httle  coup.  They  made  a 
bad  guess.  Yuan  suddenly  died  and  the  populace 
demanded  that  the  republic  be  restored.  Then  came 
Chang  Hsun,  with  his  capture  of  Peking  and  the  placing 
of  the  httle  Manchu  prince  upon  the  throne.  Chang's 
revolution  was  snuffed  out  in  exactly  twelve  days. 
China  has  announced  to  the  world  that  she  means  to 
have  democracy  and  no  fake  democracy  at  that. 

Those  who  know  the  Chinese  best,  Hke  Ambassador 
Reinsch  and  Archibald  Colquhoun,  bear  witness  to  the 
faculty  for  local  self-government  which  runs  in  the 
Chinese  blood.  The  worst  that  Colquhoun  can  say  is 
that  they  are  non-poUtical  in  national  affairs,  being 
content,  as  a  rule,  with  a  large  measure  of  self-control 
in  the  family  and  the  community.  Mr.  Reinsch 
finds  such  a  penchant  for  democracy  in  the  life  of 
Chinese  villages  and  towns  that  he  holds  the  demand 


168  WORLD  FACTS 

for  a  national  assembly  to  be  the  natural  outgrowth  of 
what  is  deeply  ingrained  in  their  character.  He  quotes 
the  Chinese  maxim,  ''The  people's  hearts  and  Heaven's 
decree  are  the  same." 

It  would  be  rash  to  attempt  to  box  the  compass  of 
democracy's  future  in  China  or  in  any  other  Oriental 
land;  but  what  is  made  plain  is  that  the  instincts  of 
the  Easterner  on  this  subject  are  sound.  Galsworthy 
was  right  when  he  wrote  in  the  Yale  Review, 

"Democracy  is  the  rising  tide;  it  may  be  dammed 
or  delayed,  but  cannot  be  stopped.  It  seems  to  be  a 
law  in  human  nature  that  where,  in  any  corporate 
society,  the  idea  of  self-government  sets  foot  it  refuses 
to  take  that  foot  up  again.  State  after  state,  copying 
the  American  example,  has  adopted  the  democratic 
principle;  the  world's  face  is  that  way  set.  And 
civilization  is  now  so  of  a  pattern,  that  the  Western 
world  may  be  looked  on  as  one  State,  and  the  process 
of  change  therein  from  autocracy  to  democracy  re- 
garded as  though  it  were  taking  place  in  a  single  old- 
time  country  such  as  Greece  or  Rome.^ 

The  Naturalization  of  Democracy 

Is  there  to  be  one  and  the  same  kind  of  democracy 
all  over  the  earth?  Obviously  not.  Look  again  at  the 
list  of  events  and  note  not  only  the  wide  diffusion  of  the 
idea  of  popular  government  but  the  divergent  types  of 
nationaHty  and  the  varying  roads  along  which  they 
have  journeyed  to  their  present  point  of  view.  We 
have  the  British,  with  seven  centuries  of  progress, 
presenting  to  the  world  that  modern  anomaly,  a 
democratic  king.     We  have  the  United  States  organ- 

1  Yale  Review,  October,  1918. 


DEMOCRACY  ORGANIZING  PRINCIPLE     169 

izing  its  federal  life  under  the  leadership  of  an  imperial 
president.  Mexico,  long  the  synonym  for  fake  repub- 
licanism, bids  fair  to  evolve  something  useful  out  of  the 
dictator  theory  of  Roman  times.  China  is  giving  the 
world  an  interesting  experiment  in  the  federalizing  of 
village  democracies.  Japan,  a  Teutonic  state  grafted 
upon  Oriental  despotism,  is  seen  turning  to  England 
and  America  for  an  infusion  of  Anglo-Saxon  freedom. 

He  would  be  a  bold  man  who  attempted  to  forecast 
the  development  of  these  various  strains  of  the  demo- 
cratic principle.  Of  one  thing  may  we  be  certain: 
that  each  nation,  while  learning  from  all  the  rest, 
will  follow  its  own  genius,  and,  having  regard  to  its 
historical  backgrounds,  will  evolve  a  governmental 
type  suited  to  its  special  needs  and  temperament. 
We  are  learning  that  democracy  is  adaptable  to  all 
climes  and  races,  that  it  is  too  big  a  thing  to  be  confined 
within  the  walls  of  a  single  national  scheme  We 
should  expect  and  encourage  the  naturalization  of 
democracy  in  many  lands.  The  world's  governmental 
unity  should  be  a  unity  in  diversity.  Democracy 
rests  upon  the  freedom  of  the  individual.  Correspond- 
ingly its  collective  action  must  be  spontaneous,  un- 
restrained. 

Argentina  would  appear  to  be  an  exception  to  this 
rule,  since  she  adopted  in  1853  a  constitution  modeled 
closely  upon  that  of  the  United  States  and,  in  spite  of 
later  changes,  may  be  regarded  as  a  repHca  of  our- 
selves. It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that 
Argentina,  Hke  America,  is  a  projection  of  Europe. 
Her  population  is  even  found  to  contain  a  large  ad- 
mixture of  the  Anglo-Saxon  element.     Desmoulins,  the 


170  WORLD  FACTS 

French  author  whom  we  have  quoted,  cites  Argentina 
as  one  of  the  sections  of  the  earth  "threatened"  by- 
Anglo-Saxon  rule. 

But  even  should  our  American  framework  of  govern- 
ment be  duplicated  generally  among  the  states  to  the 
south,  it  would  not  alter  the  trend  of  national  individu- 
alism as  between  other  groups,  and  especially  as  be- 
tween the  East  and  the  West.  Japan  is  a  case  in  point. 
We  are  assured  that  democracy  is  making  headway  in 
that  country  with  gigantic  strides.  The  significance 
of  the  recent  change  in  government  lies  in  the  fact 
that  for  the  first  time  since  the  overthrow  of  the  Shogun 
and  the  mihtary  caste  and  the  adoption  of  the  con- 
stitution, the  country  is  ruled  by  a  ministry  repre- 
senting a  distinct  pohtical  party,  whose  head  is  an 
untitled  citizen.  The  day  of  the  ''Elder  Statesmen" 
has  passed.  It  is  true  the  Prime  Minister  is  responsible 
to  the  Emperor  rather  than  to  Parliament,  but  therein 
lies  the  field  of  development  immediately  in  sight. 
Intelligent  Japanese  are  reflecting  upon  the  fact  that 
in  the  olden  time  the  Mikado  was  less  of  an  actual 
ruler  than  a  symbol  of  patriotism  and  religion.  It 
would  not  be  an  unnatural  step,  they  argue,  for  the 
country  to  ask  him  to  return  to  the  retirement  from 
which  he  emerged  in  1889.  No  lack  of  respect,  they 
maintain,  is  involved  in  such  a  suggestion,  the  feeling 
being  that,  freed  from  responsibility  in  the  practical 
affairs  of  state,  the  Emperor  would  count  the  more  as  a 
center  of  patriotic  sentiment  and  aspiration. 

India  is  another  country  to  watch.  In  spite  of  her 
varied  races,  languages,  and  creeds,  India  as  with  one 
voice  a-sks  for  Home  Rule.    Great  Britain  is  inchned 


DEMOCRACY  ORGANIZING  PRINCIPLE     171 

to  grant  the  request.  But  what  shall  be  the  type? 
How  associate  in  a  well-balanced  state  British  over- 
lordship  in  diplomacy  and  military  affairs,  Brahman 
dictatorship  in  religion,  native  princes  demanding  social 
recognition,  and  a  citizenry  seething  with  the  idea  of 
popular  rights?  The  world  would  seem  to  be  getting 
ready  for  something  new  in  the  line  of  popular  rule. 

International  Democracy 

We  owe  this  felicitous  phrase  to  our  new  ambassador 
to  Japan,  Mr.  Morris.  Upon  taking  up  his  duties, 
Mr.  Morris  urged  that  it  was  to  guarantee  the  prin- 
ciple of  '^ international  democracy"  that  Japan  and  the 
United  States  had  become  alHes  and  comrades  in  their 
fight  against  a  common  foe.  He  might  well  have  gone 
a  step  farther  and  said  that  this  new  world-principle  is 
the  best  guarantee  we  have  of  a  permanent  peace. 

Whatever  form  and  content  the  proposed  League  of 
Nations  may  take,  its  success  is  bound  to  depend  upon 
the  fellowship  of  the  countries  which  are  avowedly 
upon  the  democratic  basis.  In  the  last  resort  the 
League  will  depend  upon  Great  Britain,  France,  and  the 
United  States.  Lloyd  George  has  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  British  Empire  is  in  itself  a  League 
of  Nations  pledged  to  justice  and  peace.  The  Imperial 
Conference,  mentioned  in  our  list  of  events,  which 
met  almost  continuously  in  London  during  the  War, 
constituted  what  amounted  to  an  Imperial  Cabinet. 
Whether  or  not  this  leads  to  the  formation  of  an 
Imperial  Legislature  and  an  Imperial  Executive,  it 
will  remain  as  a  symbol  and  pledge  of  what  a  British 
statesman  has  called  ''a  voluntary  union  of  the  au- 


172  WORLD   FACTS 

tonomous  nations  of  an  imperial  Commonwealth."  If 
to  such  a  combination  we  can  add  the  United  States 
and  France,  the  peace  of  the^world  should  be  reasonably 
secure. 

Much  encouragement  arises  from  the  fact  that  the 
Inter-AUied  Labor  Conference,  held  in  London  in 
February,  1918,  taking  its  cue  from  the  previous  action 
of  the  British  Labour  Party,  came  out  specifically 
for  internationahsm  based  upon  a  democracy  which 
not  only  defends  itself  but  seeks  the  welfare  of  all. 
The  platform  contains  this  significant  declaration: 

'^  Whoever  triumphs,  the  peoples  will  have  lost 
unless  an  international  system  is  established  which 
will  prevent  war.  What  would  it  mean  to  declare  the 
right  of  peoples  to  self-determination  if  this  right  were 
left  at  the  mercy  of  new  violations,  and  were  not 
protected  by  a  super-national  authority?  That  au- 
thority can  be  no  other  than  the  League  of  Nations,  in 
which  not  only  all  the  present  belligerents,  but  every 
other  independent  state,  should  be  pressed  to  join.'' 

By  way  of  carrying  out  the  above  principles,  the 
Labor  Conference  called  for  the  estabUshment  of  an 
international  high  court,  which  should  settle  disputes 
and  act  as  mediator  between  states  in  all  issues  which 
are  vital  to  world  welfare.  It  stood  for  the  right  of  the 
League  to  guide  the  consultations  of  peoples  seeldng 
self-determination,  it  proposed  the  erection  of  a  firm 
structure  of  international  law,  it  favored  the  organiza- 
tion of  an  international  legislature  in  which  every 
civilized  state  shall  have  its  share,  and,  of  course,  the 
providing  of  suitable  sanctions  by  which  the  League 
may  be  enabled  to  enforce  its  decrees.  Finally,  it 
demanded  the  complete  democratizing  of  all  countries. 


DEMOCRACY  ORGANIZING  PRINCIPLE     173 

This  is  the  most  definite  and  constructive  program  of 
internationaHsm  which  has  been  promulgated.  It  calls 
upon  all  free  countries  to  think  in  terms  of  restricted 
sovereignty,  and  it  seeks  to  place  upon  the  stronger 
nations  a  heavy  load  of  responsibihty  towards  the 
weaker  peoples.  Very  likely  the  Great  Powers  are  not 
ready  for  such  radical  steps.  But  we  should  all  rejoice 
over  the  broad  outlook  upon  the  world  and  the  note 
of  national  altruism  which  characterized  this  utter- 
ance of  European  labor  leaders.  It  is  one  of  the  great 
signs  of  the  times. 

The  one  clear  thing  which  emerges  from  the  various 
programs  of  world  reconstruction  is  the  determination 
that  the  nations  must  get  together  and  stay  together 
in  the  purpose  to  abohsh  war  and  to  make  it  possible 
for  each  nation  to  develop  according  to  its  special 
genius  and  opportunity.  Everjnvhere  the  demand  is 
for  a  beneficent  and  practical  world  unity.  The  dom- 
inating principle  of  world  pohtics  since  the  Renais- 
sance has  been  nationalism.  Henceforth,  if  it  is  not 
to  be  internationalism,  it  will  at  least  be  nationaHsm 
and  internationahsm  in  proper  balance. 

Democracy  at  heart  is  altruistic;  it  is  other-regard- 
ing. '^ Democracy,"  as  a  recent  writer  remarks,  "is 
in  one  sense  the  negation  of  class  privileges  among  a 
people,  and  when  applied  to  international  relations  it 
implies  the  moral  duty  of  the  powerful  to  defend  the 
rights  of  the  less  powerful,  as  well  as  the  rights  of  the 
latter  to  claim  a  footing  of  equality  in  the  council 
chamber  of  nations."  Theodore  Parker  is  credited 
with  saying,  '^ Democracy  means  not  'I'm  as  good  as 
you  are/  but  'You're  as  good  as  I  am.' "    An  editorial 


174  WORLD  FACTS 

writer  in  The  Outlook  affirms  the  same  principle  in  these 
words:  *' Genuine  democracy  rests,  not  upon  an  atti- 
tude of  pleased  expectation  of  receiving,  not  upon  an 
irresponsible  sense  of  Uberty  to  work  one's  own  will; 
but  upon  unffinching  self-surrender,  unceasing  activity 
in  behalf  of  the  common  good."  If  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  the  United  States  have  risen  to  this  height 
of  democracy  in  a  time  of  war,  by  that  sign  they 
have  become  the  best  guarantee  of  democracy  in  the 
time  of  peace. 

The  Perils  of  Democracy 

In  these  days  when  democracy  is  forging  ahead  at 
such  a  rapid  rate  and  when  we  are  entertaining  such 
high  hopes  of  its  success,  it  is  well  to  remind  ourselves 
that  the  greatest  work  ever  written  on  democracy, 
Plato's  ^'Repubhc,"  was  produced  under  the  shadow  of 
the  judicial  murder  of  Socrates  on  the  part  of  the 
restored  Republic  of  Athens.  What  Plato  had  to  con- 
template was  the  fact  that  the  most  intellectual  and 
esthetic  people  on  earth  had  put  to  death  their  noblest 
citizen,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  "si  corrupter  of  the 
youth."  Plato's  position  was  that  all  existing  govern- 
ments were  mere  partisan  factions.  His  remedy  was 
a  state  built  upon  justice,  and  he  looked  forward  to 
the  time  when  ''either  philosophers  should  become 
kings  or  kings  philosophers."  No  one  today  would 
want  to  live  in  Plato's  Republic,  where  the  poets  and 
storjrtellers  are  classed  with  tyrants  and  sophists, 
and  where  all  the  wives  are  to  be  common,  their  chil- 
dren are  to  be  common  and  no  parent  is  to  know 
his  own  child,  nor  any  child  his  parent.     But  we 


DEMOCRACY  ORGANIZING  PRINCIPLE     175 

are  grateful  to  Plato  beyond  any  words  to  express 
that,  in  spite  of  the  fate  of  Socrates,  he  did  not  lose 
hope  in  the  power  of  the  people  to  rule  justly  and 
well. 

Plato's  position  is  paralleled  today  by  the  man  who 
proposes  that  we  turn  over  the  Government  to  the 
college  professors.  Undoubtedly  we  might  do  worse 
than  that  at  a  time  when  the  Government  looks  to  our 
higher  institutions  of  learning  for  its  army  officers  and 
when  a  college  professor  in  the  White  House  becomes 
the  spokesman  of  liberty-loving  people  throughout  the 
world.  But  most  of  us  will  prefer  to  educate  the  en- 
tire population  to  the  point  of  participating  intelli- 
gently and  worthily  in  pubUc  affairs. 

The  perils  of  democracy  are  as  obvious  today  as 
they  were  in  Athens  in  the  time  of  Pericles  and  Plato  — 
possibly  more  so.  What  could  be  a  greater  warning  to 
the  world  than  the  events  in  Russia  since  the  revolu- 
tion of  March,  1917?  If  we  have  abohshed  autocracy 
only  to  estabhsh  Bolshevism  in  its  place,  the  last 
state  of  the  world  will  be  worse  than  the  first.  The 
democratic  nations  suffered  the  mortification  of  looking 
on  while  the  greatest  liberty  movement  in  history, 
regarded  from  the  standpoint  of  the  number  of  people 
involved,  in  less  than  eight  months  degenerated  into 
an  orgy  of  anarchy  and  bloodshed.  Our  chronology 
of  democracy  during  the  War  is  not  one  of  uninter- 
rupted progress.  On  the  contrary,  it  traverses  a  series 
of  events  as  significant  to  our  age  as  the  excesses  of 
the  French  Revolution  were  to  the  men  of  Washing- 
ton's time.  It  is  a  testimony  to  our  deeply-founded 
trust  in  the  righteousness  and  practicabiUty  of  popu- 


176  WORLD  FACTS 

lar  rule  that,  in  spite  of  the  anarchic  degeneracy  of  the 
Russian  revolution,  we  can  say  and  do  say,  '^  Never- 
theless, we  beUeve  in  democracy." 

Undoubtedly  the  world  needed  the  lesson  of  the 
Russian  debauch.  Certainly  we  of  the  United  States 
did  at  a  time  when  lynchings  were  a  frequent  occur- 
rence, when  the  ''I.W.W."  were  allowed  to  carry  on 
without  let  or  hindrance  their  propaganda  of  class 
hatred  and  destruction,  when  affiliated  newspapers, 
of  enormous  circulation,  in  our  metropoHtan  centers 
were  doing  their  best  (or  worst)  to  precipitate  war 
between  the  United  States  and  Japan.  Europe  and 
Asia  needed  the  lesson  of  the  Bolsheviks.  They 
needed  to  know  that  "o,  new  system  of  government 
cannot  be  ordered  like  a  new  suit  of  clothes,"  that 
Germany  and  Austria  and  Bulgaria  may  have  their 
Bolsheviks  as  well  as  Russia. 

The  perils  of  democracy  were  never  greater  than  in 
this  day,  when  it  is  spreading  like  wildfire  among  people 
so  poorly  equipped  by  education  and  experience  for  its 
exacting  demands.  In  a  sense,  the  war  for  freedom 
has  but  just  begun.  What  we  have  achieved  is  the 
right  of  the  people  to  rule.  The  power  to  rule  remains 
to  be  demonstrated.  Alongside  of  President  Wilson's 
slogan,  ''We  must  make  the  world  safe  for  democracy" 
goes  down  in  history  the  word  of  Governor  McCall  of 
Massachusetts,  ''We  must  make  democracy  safe  for  the 
world." 

The  Christianization  of  Democracy 

What  we  are  coming  to  understand  is  that  democracy 
means  far  more  than  a  form  of  government.     It  is  a 


DEMOCRACY  ORGANIZING  PRINCIPLE     177 

spiritual  quality  in  man;  it  is  the  doctrine  of  ''the 
infinite  and  therefore  the  equal  worth  of  living  souls." 
Democracy  without  rehgion  is  as  perilous  today  as  it 
was  in  the  Republic  of  Athens  or  in  the  days  of  the 
French  Revolution.  Only  Christians  can  make  true 
democracies  and  only  those  Christians  who  believe  in 
Hberty  as  well  as  love,  and  in  liberty  because  they 
believe  in  love.  James  Russell  Lowell  says,  ''Christ 
was  the  first  true  democrat  that  ever  breathed,  as  he 
was  also  the  first  true  gentleman."  LoweU  also 
affiiTned  that  the  Church  was  "the  first  organized 
democracy." 

There  are  two  remedies  for  the  perils  of  democracy 
at  home  and  abroad,  and  only  two.  The  first  is  the 
painstaking,  persistent  inculcation  of  the  principles 
of  human  worth,  of  human  brotherhood,  of  justice 
and  good  will,  which  were  proclaimed  and  exemphfied 
by  Christ  nineteen  hundred  years  ago.  The  other  is 
the  acceptance  of  the  leadership  of, Christ  in  human 
affairs.  The  teachings  of  Christ  are  the  absolutely 
necessary  intellectual  and  ethical  foundation  for  any 
genuine  repubUc.  But  the  teachings  are  not  enough. 
There  is  needed  the  dynamic  of  the  personahty^  of  the 
teacher. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  solution  of  the  world's  political 
problem.  He  is  the  one  preeminent  figure  in  his- 
tory which  rises  above  all  injustice,  all  unsoundness, 
all  prejudice  of  nationahty  or  race  —  the  hope  of  the 
world.  There  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men  whereby  society  must  be  saved.  What 
Plato  in  his  Repubhc,  Augustine  in  his  City  of  God, 
More  in  his  Utopia,  and  our  modern  poHtical  econo- 


178  WORLD  FACTS 

mists  have  been  reaching  after  is  a  society  built  upon 
the  plan  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  Back  of  our  phi- 
losophies, our  experiments,  our  gropings,  Hes  the  great 
solution,  ''One  is  your  Master,  even  Christ,  and  all  ye 
are  brethren. '^ 


FACT  IX 

RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM 

In  the  spring  of  1918  the  directors  of  a  large  whole- 
sale company  in  a  Western  city  were  holding  their 
annual  meeting  for  the  hearing  of  reports,  the  election 
of  ofScers,  the  declaring  of  a  dividend,  and  for  miscel- 
laneous business.  The  usual  formahties  had  been  gone 
through  with  and  they  were  on  the  point  of  declaring 
the  largest  dividend  in  their  history,  when  the  treasurer 
rose  and  stated  that  before  the  motion  was  offered 
he  had  a  suggestion  to  make.  He  then  spoke  some- 
what as  follows: 

'^Mr.  President,  I  am  sure  we  all  feel  happy  over 
the  outcome  of  the  year.  Our  profits  are  considerably 
beyond  what  they  have  been  in  the  past  and  even 
beyond  what  we  had  hoped  for.  But  it  has  been  a 
year  of  war.  During  these  months  our  country  has 
been  engaged  in  a  struggle  for  the  preservation  of 
liberty  and  righteousness  in  the  earth.  On  every  side 
great  sacrifices  are  being  made.  We  see  our  choicest 
young  men  offering  their  lives  in  their  country's  ser- 
vice. In  the  presence  of  what  they  are  doing  any 
sacrifice  we  can  make  appears  cheap.  And  yet  there 
are  ways  in  which  we  can  help.  I  feel  that  not  only 
as  individuals  but  as  a  corporation  we  should  count  it  a 
privilege  to  place  as  much  money  as  possible  at  the 
disposal  of  our  Government,  and  to  support  such  public 

179 


180  WORLD  FACTS 

charities  as  appear  especially  important  at  this  time. 
I  have  accordingly  drawn  up  a  Hst  of  objects  for  which 
I  trust  you  will  vote  appropriate  sums,  before  we  pass 
upon  the  distribution  of  our  profits." 

The  hst  which  the  treasurer  then  proceeded  to  read 
included  such  things  as  Liberty  Bonds,  Red  Cross, 
Y  M  C  A  and  Y  W  C  A  war  work,  the  Salvation  Army, 
sundry  rehef  funds,  and  several  local  charities,  to- 
gether with  special  grants  to  certain  employes  long  in 
the  service  of  the  company  —  twenty-five  in  all. 
Questions  were  asked  in  regard  to  some  of  the  objects 
and  there  ensued  a  highly  interesting  discussion  upon 
the  duty  of  corporations  toward  public  institutions 
and  charities,  not  only  in  times  of  war  but  in  times  of 
peace.  These  appropriations,  as  listed  by  the  treas- 
urer, were  voted  unanimously,  a  dividend  was  ordered, 
covering  the  balance  of  the  profits,  and  the  meeting 
stood  adjourned. 

''Would  you  believe  it?"  said  the  treasurer,  in 
speaking  of  the  meeting  afterwards,  ''we  spent  about 
one-quarter  of  the  time  transacting  business  and  the 
other  three-quarters  on  the  charity  proposition." 

There  was  a  man  in  one  of  the  Southern  lumber 
camps,  by  the  name  of  Scott  —  "Great  Scott"  they 
called  him,  for  reasons  which  this  incident  will  reveal. 
When  the  ship-building  program  of  the  Government 
called  for  timber  of  unusual  size  and  of  exceedingly 
fine  quahty,  which  could  be  obtained  only  under  the 
most  difficult  circumstances  and  yet  was  needed  in 
the  shortest  possible  time,  they  intrusted  the  job  to 
this  man.     "Size,  quahty,  despatch"  were  the  words 


RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM  181 

the  superintendent  of  the  company  used  when  em- 
phasizing the  importance  of  the  order.  ''It's  up  to 
you  to  furnish  Uncle  Sam  with  these  timbers."  Scott 
said  nothing,  but  disappeared  into  the  forest  with  his 
gang  of  lumber-jacks.  When  the  work  was  nearly 
finished  and  he  had  more  than  met  the  expectations  of 
the  government  inspector,  he  was  interviewed  by  a 
WTiter  who  had  become  interested  in  the  out-of-the- 
way  characters  who  were  helping  to  win  the  War. 
The  two  men  were  standing  by  a  log  sixty  feet  long 
''in  the  clear"  and  four  feet  through  at  the  base,  which 
had  just  been  felled.  Scott,  mth  pipe  in  mouth,  was 
examining  the  clean-cut  surface,  which  he  pronounced 
"sound  as  gold,"  when  the  following  conversation,  as 
reported  by  the  visitor,  ensued : 

"'Scott,'  I  said,  'do  you  know  what  you're  doing, 
here  at  this  job  of  yours?'  'How's  that?'  he  queried. 
'You're  doing  your  day's  work,'  I  said.  'That's  all 
right.  But  do  you  ever  try  to  think  out  what  it  all 
means  ? ' 

" '  Think  what  it  means  ? '  he  echoed.  '  This  ?  Yes, 
I've  thought,  times.  I  can't  say  it.  If  I  could  follow 
along  after  that  tree  —  if  I  could  go  on  one  of  them 
ships,  now,  mebbe  I  could  say  it  better  when  I'd  get 
back.  I've  hankered  to,  times.  But  if  I  did,  I'd  lose 
somethin'.  I'm  responsible  here.  Mebbe  I  wouldn't 
be  as  responsible  somewheres  else.' 

"'Responsible?'  It  was  my  turn  to  echo.  'What 
do  you  mean?  Responsible  to  what?  To  your  job? 
Is  that  it  ? ' 

" '  Yes,'  he  said.  '  No !  Not  just  that.  That's  part 
of  it.     But  there's  sometliin'  back  behind  that  —  ain't 


182  WORLD  FACTS 

there?  —  somethin'  no  man  can  ever  see  or  give  a 
name  to.  It  ain't  the  United  States,  exactly.  It's  — 
it's  somethin'  in  me.  I've  got  to  stay  responsible  to 
that,  doin'  what  I  can  do  best  times  Hke  these.  I 
guess  that's  it  —  mebbe.' " 

When  America  had  been  in  the  War  about  a  year  a 
woman  in  a  Western  city  came  to  the  door  of  a  clergy- 
man, and  remarked  that  she  had  something  to  say. 
When  he  told  her  to  ''say  on,"  she  replied,  in  tones 
whose  seriousness  and  thoughtfulness  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  him,  something  hke  this: 

''I  think  that  this  war  is  the  greatest  event  that  has 
ever  happened  in  human  history.  How  everything  has 
changed  as  the  War  has  gone  on !  And  how  we  have  all 
come  to  see  that  we  must  sustain  those  boys  in  France 
who  are  suffering  and  sacrificing  for  us.  And  how  our 
common  work  for  them  and  for  the  cause  is  burning  up 
our  frivoUties  and  selfishness.  We  cannot  go  on  living 
any  longer  as  we  have  been.  This  is  a  great  spiritual 
movement  and  the  Church  ought  to  do  her  part  in  it. 
These  boys  and  girls  about  us  must  be  taught  what  it 
means  and  how  to  live  for  others.  It  seems  to  me 
that  if  we  all  do  our  part  we  shall  see  a  new  world 
coming  out  of  all  this  loss  and  suffering." 

These  three  pictures  —  the  capitalists  dividing  up 
their  profits  only  after  the  claims  of  charity  and  patrio- 
tism had  been  met,  the  laboring  man  in  the  forest 
sticking  to  his  job,  the  woman  declaring  that  hereafter 
we  must  Uve  for  others  —  suggest  the  new  spirit  which 
has  come  over  multitudes  of  people  as  a  result  of  the 
World  War.    That  word  from  the  heart  of  American 


RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM  183 

womanhood  declared  a  great  fact  in  human  history  — 
''How  everything  has  changed  as  the  War  has  gone 
on!"  Everything  —  not  only  preaching  and  teaching 
but  manufacturing,  selhng,  wood-chopping,  rivet- 
driving,  wheat-raising,  cooking,  editorial  writing,  book- 
making,  doctoring,  legislating,  most  of  all  soldiering. 

The  supreme  evidence  of  the  changed  world,  of 
course,  is  found  in  the  offering  of  life  on  the  part  of 
milUons  of  young  men  for  the  cause  of  liberty  and 
righteousness.  The  rest  of  us  were  stirred  to  unsel- 
fish action  because  of  their  example.  We  knew,  as 
the  Western  woman  said,  that  boys  in  France  were 
suffering  and  sacrificing  for  us.  As  the  treasurer  of 
that  corporation  remarked,  they  made  any  sacrifices 
we  could  offer  of  money  or  time  or  labor  appear  cheap. 
What  a  majestic  sight  it  was  to  see  them  go  forth  — 
those  matter-of-fact  young  men  from  our  homes, 
our  offices,  our  shops,  our  schools,  and  our  fields, 
transformed  by  utter  devotion  to  a  great  cause. 

The  distinctive  thing  about  the  War  was  this :  It  was 
the  fellowship  of  arms  and  ideals.  That  the  men  went 
out  in  such  vast  numbers  and  from  so  many  sections 
of  the  earth  was,  of  course,  most  impressive.  But 
the  significant,  the  inexpressibly  grand  thing  was  the 
motive  —  the  cause  of  outraged  moral  principle,  the 
devotion  to  honor,  right,  and  justice.  General  Smuts, 
the  Boer,  called  it  a  ''war  of  souls,"  a  struggle  "be- 
tween irrepressibly  conflicting  ideals  of  national  char- 
acter and  conduct."  Another  grim  soldier  character- 
ized it  as  "the  business  of  the  human  conscience." 
Chivalry  has  been  in  the  world  a  long  time,  and  chiv- 
alry, as  during  the  Crusades,  has  made  noble  fighters. 


184  WORLD  FACTS 

There  have  been  notable  wars  of  conscience,  as  when 
Cromwell  led  his  ''Ironsides"  to  victory  at  Marston 
Moor  and  Naseby.  But  in  this  war  we  have  seen 
chivalry  and  conscience  in  a  perfect  blend,  and  milHons 
of  men  offering  up  their  Uves  in  defense  of  the  highest 
ideals  of  civiUzation. 

What  is  this  compelling  motive,  this  new  power  which 
has  swept  over  the  world?  Scott,  the  lumberman, 
described  it  as  ''something  no  man  can  ever  see  or 
give  a  name  to.  It  ain't  the  United  States  exactly. 
It's  —  it's  somethin^  in  me."  Possibly  some  will  prefer 
to  leave  it  that  way;  but  the  vast  majority  have  pre- 
ferred to  give  it  a  name  and  they  have  called  it  idealism. 

The  word  has  come  into  tremendous  vogue  during 
the  War.  Not  all  who  use  it  can  define  it;  but  they 
know  it  is  not  the  ideaUsm  which  the  metaphysicians 
or  the  artists  or  the  Uterary  men  talk  about.  They 
know  it  has  to  do  with  the  most  vital  things  of  hfe. 
They  understand  it  best  in  distinction  from  its  oppo- 
sites.  They  reaUze  that  it  is  opposed  to  materialism 
in  all  its  forms.  This  is  no  matter  of  money,  or  of  flesh 
and  blood.  Material  things  are  important,  but  they 
must  be  subjected  to  a  higher  law.  Everyone  recog- 
nizes that  idealism  is  not  a  matter  of  force,  although  it 
can  use  force  to  good  effect.  The  Kaiser  and  his  mili- 
tary advisers  declared  force  to  be  "the  master  of  the 
destinies  of  men."  Our  soldier-ideaUsts  said,  "We  will 
exert  our  utmost  force  to  overthrow  that  doctrine." 

The  man  in  the  street,  if  asked  to  explain  what  he 
means  by  ideaUsm,  would  probably  begin  by  saying  it 
is  the  opposite  of  what  we  have  been  fighting  in  Ger- 
many —  the  opposite  of  perfidy,  brutality,  and  greed. 


RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM  185 

Having  obtained  this  basis  in  historical  fact  and  per- 
sonal experience,  he  would  go  on  to  name  the  great 
moral  principles  of  truth,  honor,  justice,  humanity, 
good  will,  mercy,  and  anything  else  he  could  think  of 
which  makes  for  nobiUty  of  character  and  of  conduct. 
We  have  to  thank  the  War  not  only  for  placing  the 
word  idealism  in  the  forefront  of  our  vocabulary,  but 
for  fining  it  with  such  a  definite  and  glorious  content. 
If  it  is  plain  that  democracy  has  become  the  organ- 
izing principle  of  the  world,  it  is  equally  plain  that 
ideaUsm  is  to  be  the  spirit  in  which  the  world's  great 
work  is  to  be  done. 

Cleansing  Idealism 

''When  thy  judgments  are  in  the  earth,  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  world  learn  righteousness"  (Isa.  26  :9). 
The  historian  of  the  future  is  Ukely  to  look  back  upon 
these  years  of  war,  through  which  we  have  been  passing, 
as  the  prophet  Isaiah  looked  forward  to  the  period  of 
the  Exile,  as  God's  school  of  righteousness  for  the 
nations.  Certainly  the  nations  know  more  of  right- 
eousness today  than  at  any  other  point  in  history. 
Certainly  the  nations  have  been  purged  from  unright- 
eousness to  a  degree  hardly  believable  a  few  years  ago. 
Let  us  have  the  conditions  of  the  pre-war  period 
clearly  in  mind.  In  the  fight  of  our  present  hopeful 
condition  it  is  easy  to  forget,  even  to  deny,  the  dark 
days  of  the  past. 

There  was  Belgium.  In  the  sense  of  outraged 
justice  and  in  our  overwhelming  pity  for  the  Belgian 
people,  which  had  so  much  to  do  with  thrusting  Eng- 
land and  America  into  war,  we  cannot,  ought  not  to 


186  WORLD  FACTS 

forget  the  dark  record  in  the  Congo.  The  plain,  ugly 
fact  is  that  the  atrocities  perpetrated  upon  the  help- 
less natives  of  the  Congo  region,  next  to  Germany's 
brutal  treatment  of  the  Herero  nation  in  Africa,  are  the 
blackest  record  standing  against  any  government  of 
Europe.  Some  have  sought  to  lay  the  whole  blame 
upon  the  wicked  King  Leopold,  long  since  gone  to  his 
reward.  It  would  be  a  relief  indeed  if  we  could  leave 
it  in  that  way;  but  it  is  known  that  Congo  rubber 
stock  was  held  widely  throughout  the  country  and  that 
multitudes  were  growing  rich  off  the  brutalities  of  their 
agents  in  the  far-away  African  forests.  King  Albert, 
to  his  credit  be  it  said,  did  all  in  his  power  to  correct 
the  abuses  of  the  vile  corporation  which  his  father 
had  projected,  but  King  Albert  could  not  purge  the 
hearts  of  his  merchant  princes  or  atone  for  the  lives 
of  thousands  of  helpless  natives  who  had  been  the 
victims  of  their  greed.  It  was  left  for  August,  1914, 
to  do  that.  How  differently  we  write  of  these  things 
today!  Is  it  not  clear  that  Belgium  has  regained 
something  far  more  precious  than  her  ruined  cities 
and  fields  as  she  emerges  from  the  tragedy  of  the  war 
years  ? 

Take  the  case  of  France  —  glorious  France,  as  she 
towers  in  the  sunlight  of  her  moral  no  less  than  her 
military  victories.  It  seems  ungracious  to  recall  the 
past;  but  how  else  are  we  to  take  to  heart  the  deep 
lessons  of  the  world's  woe,  how  else  understand  the 
ways  of  God  ?  Germany  made  a  characteristic  blunder 
when  she  taunted  France  with  being  decadent.  But 
there  were  people  outside  of  Germany  who  did  not 
hesitate  to  use  that  word  when  speaking  of  certain 


RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM  187 

tendencies  in  the  political  and  social  life  of  France  at 
the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century. 

We  do  not  forget  the  case  of  Drejrfus,  the  young 
artillery  officer,  who,  in  order  that  the  gross  corruption 
of  the  French  Army  might  be  covered  up,  was  not  only 
wrongfully  accused,  condemned,  and  exiled,  but  for 
years  was  treated  with  utter  brutaUty,  the  General 
Staff,  the  War  Office,  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
land  participating  or  conniving  in  the  crime.  We 
have  fresh  in  our  minds  the  notorious  Caillaux  case, 
which  revealed  a  member  of  the  cabinet  involved  not 
only  in  crooked  finance  but  apparently  also  in  high 
treason,  yet  afterwards  elected  to  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  while  his  wife  is  acquitted  of  the  murder 
of  his  accuser,  a  leading  editor  of  the  capital,  whom 
she  had  killed  in  his  office.  It  is  pertinent  to  recall 
that  these  disgraceful  proceedings  occurred  in  the  spring 
of  1914. 

The  rottenness  of  life  in  the  high  circles  of  France 
in  those  days  was  the  comment  of  the  civilized  world. 
Common  opinion  had  it  that  France  was  headed  for 
destruction.  We  know  now  that  the  taint  did  not 
penetrate  as  deep  into  the  body  politic  as  we  supposed. 
We  mistook  Paris  for  France.  We  failed  to  reahze  the 
sacrificial  power  of  French  patriotism  the  moment  it  is 
threatened  from  without.  Our  diagnosis  was  wrong 
in  respect  to  the  extent  of  the  disease;  it  was  not 
wrong  m  respect  to  the  disease  itself.  France  was 
headed  for  destruction  in  1914,  but  there  is  a  new 
France  today.  Possibly  no  nation  in  history  has 
gained  more  rapidly  in  moral  fiber  than  France  during 
the  four  years  of  war. 


188  WORLD  FACTS 

The  English  writers  and  preachers  have  dealt  with 
their  national  situation  in  pre-war  days  with  com- 
mendable frankness  and  sincerity.  Perhaps  more 
than  in  other  countries  they  were  conscious  of  a  down- 
ward trend.  We  recall  many  truly  prophetic  utter- 
ances from  clergymen  of  the  Free  Churches  and  of  the 
Church  of  England.  For  several  years  before  1914  a 
declension  in  religion  had  been  noted  and  widely  com- 
mented upon.  Selfishness  of  a  peculiarly  sordid  type 
was  recognized  as  pervading  the  ranks  of  labor.  The 
middle  class  had  gone  in  for  'luxury  without  expense.'^ 
As  for  the  privileged  classes,  it  is  recognized  that  a  fair 
picture  of  their  characteristic  interests  and  activities 
has  been  given  by  Mr.  H.  G.  Wells  in  the  opening 
chapters  of  his  ''Mr.  Britling  Sees  It  Through."  In 
those  days  church  attendance  was  falling  off  through- 
out the  Kingdom,  and  Christian  leaders  were  frankly 
apprehensive  as  to  the  future  of  the  Church. 

Perhaps  the  clearest  evidence  of  England's  decline  is 
found  in  the  hterature  of  the  times,  which  was  in- 
creasingly pessimistic  in  tone.  Books  like  Brooks 
Adams'  ''Law  of  Civilization  and  Decadence,"  Charles 
H.  Pearson's  "National  Life  and  Character,"  and 
Benjamin  Kidd's  "Social  Evolution"  were  dragging 
down  the  spirits  of  men.  So  prominent  and  sane  a 
critic  as  Lord  Balfour  had  expressed  a  profound  dis- 
beUef  in  nineteenth  century  progress.  It  was  recog- 
nized that  a  "school  of  pessimism"  had  arisen,  based 
not  upon  a  philosophy  of  doubt  or  negation,  but  upon 
a  diagnosis  of  certain  ugly  facts  in  modern  life.  There 
were  those  who  took  sharp  issue  with  this  trend  of 
thought.     Among    these    was    that    uncompromising 


RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM  189 

optimist,  Theodore  Roosevelt  who,  in  characteristic 
exuberance  of  spirit,  scoffed  at  the  whole  business  and 
insisted  that  the  world  was  being  led  along  safe  paths.^ 
We  know  now  and  have  known  for  over  four  years  that 
there  was  abundant  reason  for  the  gloomy  apprehen- 
sions of  the  time.  In  a  word,  the  British  prophets  of 
evil  were  right. 

Nor  can  we  in  the  United  States  escape  the  general 
indictment.  America,  Uke  England,  is  naturally  ideal- 
istic and,  like  England,  we  have  been  accused  of  a 
conspicuous  lack  of  that  quality.  We  have  been  called 
"q,  nation  of  shop-keepers."  The  charge  is  grossly 
untrue.  In  spite  of  all  that  has  been  said  of  our 
materiahsm  and  our  absorption  in  money-making, 
no  nation  on  earth  has  a  finer  record  in  the  matter  of 
supporting  the  higher  interests  of  society.  If  we  love 
money,  we  have  not  lacked  those  who  love  to  give 
money  away.  We  are  the  most  generous  people  on 
earth.  No  nation  in  distress  has  ever  appealed  to  us 
in  vain.  Our  pubUc  schools,  our  privately  endowed 
colleges,  our  bewildering  array  of  charitable  and  hu- 
manitarian institutions,  our  hbraries,  our  churches,  all 
bespeak  an  unusual  devotion  to  the  finer  things  of  life. 

Nothing  is  more  indicative  of  national  character 
than  the  hterature  which  the  people  create  and  read. 
Throughout  our  literary  development,  as  BHss  Perry 
has  well  shown,^  there  runs  a  fine  strain  of  noble^thought 

1  See  Roosevelt's  essays  "National  Life  and  Character,"  and 
"The  Law  of  Civilization  and  Decay,"  in  "American'Ideals,"  in 
which  the  author  goes  so  far  as  to  class  Bismarck  among  "world 
worthies,"  along  with  Lincoln  and  others. 

2  "The  American  Mind,"  essay  entitled  "American  Idealism." 


190  WORLD   FACTS 

and  aspiration.  Our  writers  have  been  peculiarly  free 
from  the  morbid,  the  cynical,  and  the  materiaUstic. 
They  have  never  been  addicted  to  the  pessimism  and 
dry-rot  of  France,  Spain,  and  Norway.  They  have 
never  divorced  literary  art  from  sound  morahty. 
Masterpieces  of  literary  workmanship,  comparable 
with  those  of  England,  France,  Germany,  and  Italy, 
we  have  not  produced  In  moral  saneness  and  sound- 
ness our  literature  leads  the  world.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  editorial  utterances  of  our  leading  papers. 
Even  the  sheets  which  have  been  the  most  sensational 
in  their  news  columns  have  felt  constrained  to  preach 
good  morals  on  their  editorial  page. 

America  was  dedicated  to  all  that  is  fine  and  true 
by  her  Pilgrim  and  Puritan  founders,  who  were  the 
greatest  ideaUsts  of  modern  times.  America,  that  is 
the  real  America,  has  never  surrendered  her  birthright 
of  nobihty.  All  this  can  be  said  and  a  good  deal  more, 
and  it  still  remain  true  that  conditions  in  our  midst 
were  far  from  satisfactory  in  the  years  which  preceded 
the  World  War.  It  was  a  commonly  recognized  fact 
among  thoughtful  and  watchful  people  in  those  days 
that  we  were  suffering  a  lapse  from  the  high  ideals  of 
the  fathers.  The  rapid  increase  of  wealth  and  the 
inrush  of  unsympathetic  foreign  populations  were 
cited  as  the  principal  causes.  Those  were  the  days  of 
wild  extravagance  when  multitudes  were  living  beyond 
their  means,  of  the  most  flashy  fashions,  of  tawdry 
amusements,  of  cabarets,  of  noisy  clubs,  of  sensational 
magazmes,  of  blatant  desecration  of  the  Sabbath,  of 
steadily  decreasing  attendance  upon  church. 

It  will  be  recalled  with  humihty  that  in  the  period 


RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM  191 

just  before  the  War  society  women,  and  a  good  many 
who  would  not  claim  that  distinction,  would  spend 
morning  after  morning  in  one  another's  houses  playing 
bridge  for  stakes,  whole  neighborhoods  being  given  up 
to  this  dissipation.  If  anyone  objected  to  such  a 
waste  of  time  and  ventured  to  suggest  that  the  morning 
hours  might  better  be  spent  in  useful  work,  the  reply 
would  be  made,  "Why,  what  else  is  there  to  do?" 
Then  came  the  dancing  craze,  with  a  new  step  forth- 
coming every  month,  with  middle-aged  couples  giving 
up  their  time  to  lessons,  and  the  dancing-master  the 
hero  of  the  hour. 

Those  were  the  days  when,  in  our  men's  colleges,  es- 
pecially the  older  colleges  of  the  East,  there  was  an 
increasing  absorption  in  athletics  and  amusements. 
The  real  objects  of  education  were  being  smothered  by 
what  came  to  be  known  as  ''the  outside  activities." 
Achievements  in  scholarship  did  not  promote  popular 
favor  and  honor.  They  were  more  hkely  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  social  handicap.  ''The  thing"  for  the  stu- 
dent, was  to  secure  just  enough  marks  to  "get  across" 
in  examinations.  All  above  that  level  was  wasted 
effort  on  his  part.  That  there  were  many  students 
in  all  our  higher  institutions  who  did  not  bow  the 
knee  to  the  Baal  of  popularity  and  ease  is  of  course 
to  be  remembered  with  satisfaction;  but  we  refer  to 
the  general  drift.  It  was  the  period  of  intellectual 
"slackers."  Some  college  presidents  spoke  out  boldly 
against  the  situation;  a  few  trimmed  their  sails  to  the 
breeze;  most  of  them  suffered  in  silence.  We  do  not 
forget  that  the  faculties  of  not  a  few  of  our  colleges  at 
that  time  were  being  filled  up  with  Ph.D.  men  from 


192  WORLD  FACTS 

German  universities,  young  Americans  who  had  lost 
not  only  their  religion  but  a  good  deal  of  their  moral 
enthusiasm  in  the  enervating  atmosphere  of  Teutonic 
Kultur,  who  openly  scoffed  at  Christian  beUef  in  their 
classrooms,  and  if  any  trustee  or  old-fashioned  profes- 
sor had  the  temerity  to  object,  would  reply,  "The 
college  is  not  primarily  concerned  with  character;  it  is 
an  enterprise  of  learning." 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  recall  these  things;  but  we  need 
to  recall  them,  in  order  that  we  may  appreciate  the 
danger  we  were  in  and  how  salutary  has  been  the 
return  to  the  ideals  of  the  past.  Taking  it  all  in  all, 
was  not  that  Western  woman  right  who  spoke  to  the 
clergyman  about  the  war  interests  and  activities 
"burning  up  our^frivolities  and  selfishness"  and  who 
said,  "We  cannot  go  on  living  any  longer  as  we  have 
been"? 

That  was  a  timely  and  saving  note,  early  in  the  War, 
which  Alfred  Noyes  struck  in  his  superb  poem,  "The 
Searchlights."  It  gave  the  moral  challenge  for  which 
many  were  waiting. 

"Shadow  by  shadow,  stripped  for  fight. 
The  lean  black  cruisers  search  the  sea. 
Night-long  their  level  shafts  of  hght 

Revolve,  and  find  no  enemy. 
Only  they  know  each  leaping  wave 
May  hide  the  lightning,  and  their  grave. 

And  in  the  land  they  guard  so  well 
Is  there  no  silent  watch  to  keep  ? 

An  age  is  dying,  and  the  bell 

Rings  midnight  on  a  vaster  deep. 

But  over  all  its  waves,  once  more. 

The  searchhghts  move,  from  shore  to  shore. 


RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM  193 

And  captains  that  we  thought  were  dead, 
And  dreamers  that  we  thought  were  dumb^ 

And  voices  that  we  thought  were  fled, 
Arise,  and  call  us,  and  we  come; 

And  'search  in  thine  own  soul,'  they  cry; 

*For  there,  too,  lurks  thine  enemy.' 

Search  for  the  foe  in  thine  own  soul, 

The  sloth,  the  intellectual  pride; 
The  trivial  jest  that  veils  the  goal 

For  which  our  fathers  hved  and  died; 
The  lawless  dreams,  the  cynic  Art, 
That  rend  thy  nobler  seK  apart. 

Not  far,  not  far  into  the  night, 
These  level  swords  of  hght  can  pierce; 

Yet  for  her  faith  does  England  fight, 
Her  faith  in  this  our  universe; 

Believing  Truth  and  Justice  draw 

From  founts  of  everlasting  law; 

The  law  that  rules  the  stars,  our  stay. 

Our  compass  through  the  world's  wide  sea, 

The  one  sure  hght,  the  one  sure  way. 
The  one  firm  base  of  Liberty; 

The  one  firm  road  that  men  have  trod 

Through  Chaos  to  the  throne  of  God. 

Therefore  a  Power  above  the  State, 
The  unconquerable  Power  returns. 

The  fire,  the  fire  that  made  her  great 
Once  more  upon  her  altar  bums. 

Once  more,  redeemed  and  healed  and  whole, 

She  moves  to  the  Eternal  Goal."  ^ 


'  From  "The  Lord  of  Misrule  and  Other  Poems,"  by  Alfred 
Noyes,  published  by  the  F.  A.  Stokes  Co.,  New  York. 


194  WORLD  FACTS 

Practical  Idealism 

Not  only  has  the  word  ideaUsm  come  into  vogue  as 
the  result  of  the  War,  but  it  has  been  cleared  of  some 
most  unfortunate  implications.  Formerly  to  be  known 
as  an  ideahst  did  not  commend  one  to  men  of  affairs. 
For  often  the  name  suggested  the  man  of  highly  imag- 
inative temperament,  the  day  dreamer,  the  man  who 
advocated  short  cuts  to  the  millennium,  the  woman  of 
shallow  sentimentality.  Speak  to  a  business  man  of 
ideaUsm  and  you  would  call  to  his  mind  the  minister 
who  wore  his  hair  long,  the  sociahst  with  his  flowing 
black  tie,  the  professor  with  his  half-baked  sociology, 
the  poet  with  his  look  of  dreamy  abstraction. 

Who  are  the  idealists  today?  They  are  the  captains 
of  industry  Uke  Charles  M.  Schwab,  Edward  N.  Hurley, 
and  John  D.  Ryan,  and  the  '^dollar-a-y ear-men,"  who, 
at  the  call  of  their  country,  turned  from  their  own 
affairs  and  devoted  their  talent  and  energy  to  directing 
the  business  side  of  the  War.  They  are  the  men 
throughout  the  country  who  served  on  the  five  thou- 
sand Exemption  Boards,  who  devoted  days  and  nights 
without  stint  to  a  just  and  sympathetic  interpretation 
of  the  universal  draft.  They  are  the  farmers  who  en- 
couraged their  ''help"  to  enter  the  Army  and  then 
did  double  service  in  the  fields,  that  the  Alhes  should 
not  lack  for  food.  They  are  the  miners,  machinists, 
lumbermen,  railroad  men,  and  workmen  generally  all 
over  the  land  who  rose  above  the  sordidness  of  the 
strike  mania  and  stayed  by  their  jobs.  They  are  the 
t^omen  who  left  the  comfort  and  security  of  home  and 
engaged  in  manual  toil  in  shop  and  field.     They  are  the 


RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM  195 

mothers  and  sisters  who  month  after  month  and  year 
after  year  sewed,  knitted,  and  prepared  bandages  in 
connection  with  the  Red  Cross  and  other  rehef  organi- 
zations. They  are  the  college  girls  who  ran  kitchens, 
made  gardens  and  milked  cows,  and  turned  their  hands 
to  any  practical  job  that  needed  doing.  They  are  the 
clergymen  who  exchanged  the  ministerial  robes  for  the 
khaki,  who  as  chaplains,  Y  M  C  A  workers,  and  fighters 
rendered  whatever  service  they  were  asked  to  perform. 
They  are  the  college  professors  who,  in  laboratory  and 
training  camp,  placed  their  expert  knowledge  at  the 
service  of  the  Government.  They  are  the  artists, 
musicians,  and  actors  who  cheered  the  hearts  of  our 
soldiers  and  aroused  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  at 
home.  They  are  the  poets  who  shouldered  guns  and 
marched  into  the  trenches.  Most  of  all,  they  are  the 
fighters  on  land  and  sea  and  in  the  air,  who  counted 
not  their  fives  dear,  in  order  that  materiafism  and  brute 
force  might  be  put  down  forever  and  that  we  might 
live  in  a  world  where  ideals  have  a  fair  show. 

No  such  wave  of  holy  zeal  for  practical  ends  has  ever 
swept  over  the  earth.  A  Chicago  writer,  at  the  time 
engaged  in  the  Secret  Service  Department  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, upon  visiting  Washington,  said  it  was  like 
a  religious  revival  to  hear  the  conversation  in  the 
corridors  of  the  hotels  and  the  lobbies  of  Congress 
where  big  business  men  congregated.  All  the  talk  was 
about  helping  this  and  helping  that,  in  order  that 
each  might  do  his  part  to  win  the  War.  The  idealism  of 
today  is  not  the  abstract  ideafism  of  the  books,  but  the 
practical  idealism  of  the  world  workers.  At  last  we 
have  popular  recognition  of  the  truth  that  work  to  be 


196  WORLD  FACTS 

worth  while  must  have  in  it  the  element  of  nobility, 
and  that  all  work,  no  matter  how  humble  and  obscure, 
performed  in  the  spirit  of  service  is  lifted  into  the 
realm  of  spiritual  attainment. 

American  Idealism  for  the  World 

The  American  people  have  a  special  responsibility 
resting  upon  them  in  the  matter  of  making  the  idealism 
of  democracy  a  practical  thing  in  the  hfe  of  the  world. 
The  founders  of  our  Repubhc  were  not  poUtical 
dreamers.  They  were  statesmen  as  well  Tas  seers. 
They  understood  the  Hmitations  of  human  nature. 
In  breaking  from  the  tyranny  of  the  monarch  they 
had  no  intention  of  deUvering  the  Government  over 
to  the  control  of  the  mob.  KipHng  expressed  it  in  his 
poem  on  Washington: 

''If  you  can  dream  and  not  make  dreams  your  master; 
If  you  can  think  and  not  make  thoughts  your  aim.'^j 

A  good  book  to  read  just  now  is  President  Hadley's, 
"Freedom  and  Responsibility."  President  Hadley 
says: 

"The  Declaration  of  Independence  contains  theories 
closely  resembling  those  of  Rousseau;  but  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  is  as  different  from  any 
of  the  French  constitutions  at  the  close  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  as  a  practical  machine  is  different  from 
a  whirUgig.  The  EngHsh  and  American  liberals  reUed 
on  restricted  or  constitutional  democracy  as  a  means  of 
avoiding  the  evils  which  had  sprung  from  monarchy  or 
aristocracy  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  unrestrained 
popular  power  on  the  other.  The  framers  of  our 
Constitution  set  out  with  a  definite  problem  before 
them  —  the  problem  of  constructing  a  working  govern- 


RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM  197 

ment  which  should  give  effect  to  the  will  of  the  people 
and  at  the  same  time  provide  efficient  safeguards  for 
individual  Uberty." 

The  world  today  is  overstocked  with  new  repubhcs, 
which  rest  to  an  alarming  extent  upon  an  emotional 
and  passionate  desire  to  possess  every  possible  good 
thing  in  a  moment  of  time.  Who  is  to  speak  the 
sobering,  the  restraining  word,  who  is  to  offer  the 
timely  help  in  the  way  of  mediation  and  concihation, 
who,  above  all,  will  undertake  the  long  and  sacrificial 
process  of  education,  without  which  genuine  democracy 
is  impossible?  Here  is  a  field  for  American  ideaUsm 
of  the  most  practical  sort.  In  the  chaos  of  the  present 
situation  two  saving  elements  appear:  the  fact  that 
throughout  the  world  America  is  recognized  as  the 
most  successful  example  of  national  democracy  on  a 
large  scale,  and  the  fact  that  America  is  disposed  to 
share  her  experience  with  the  balance  of  the  world. 

Another  responsibility  resting  upon  America  is  the 
application  of  ideahsm  to  measures  of  moral  reform. 
The  idealism  of  the  United  States  has  developed  an 
ethical  quahty  such  as  has  not  appeared  in  other  lands. 
The  wave  of  prohibition  sentiment  which  has  swept 
over  our  country  is  to  be  credited  in  large  measure!  to 
the  state  of  mind  engendered  by  the  War.  The  War 
has  taught  us  not  only  that  it  is  bad  economy  to  allow 
the  Uquor  traffic  to  consume  our  grain,  empty  the 
pocketbooks  of  the  poor,  and  fill  our  asylums  and  jails, 
but  that  this  business  of  intoxicants  involves  a  moral 
taint  which  no  God-fearing  nation  can  suffer.  Amer- 
ica's purpose  to  be  purged  of  this  evil  once  and  for  all 
has  been  made  plain  to  the  world.     And  so  of  every 


198  WORLD  FACTS 

other  national  and  community  wrong.  Practical  ideal- 
ism demands  that  the  social  evil  shall  be  aboHshed, 
that  child  labor  shall  be  prohibited,  that  working  con- 
ditions shall  be  made  wholesome  and  stimulating. 
When  these  and  other  recognized  evils  are  in  the  way 
of  solution,  there  are  those  among  us  who  believe  that 
the  tobacco  habit  must  be  taken  in  hand.  In  a  word, 
it  rests  upon  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  demon- 
strate to  the  world  that  righteousness  and  nothing J)ut 
righteousness  exalteth  a  nation. 

One  of  the  finest  applications  of  our  new  idealistic 
temper  has  been  the  free  offering  of  money  for  the 
winning  of  the  War.  A  thousand  pens  have  commented 
upon  the  unprecedented  pouring  out  of  wealth  in  the 
purchase  of  Liberty  Bonds,  in  the  support  of  war-work 
activities,  like  the  Red  Cross,  the  Y  M  C  A,  the  Com- 
mittee for  Armenian  and  Syrian  Relief,  and  all  the 
others  whose  ''drives"  kept  our  hearts  and  pocket- 
books  open  day  and  night.  Not  in  the  pages  of  all 
history  can  one  find  a  record  of  such  an  outpouring  of 
gifts  for  patriotic  ends.  Each  financial  objective  was 
"the  greatest  in  the  history  of  the  world."  Together 
they  lifted  beneficence  to  a  plain  which  the  wildest 
enthusiast  would  have  considered  impossible  a  few 
years  ago. 

What  the  War  has  done  is  to  place  charity  in  the 
center  of  the  stage.  It  has  given  charity  a  standing 
along  with  the  investments  and  plans  for  business  ex- 
pansion. Thousands  of  men  found  themselves  making 
money  in  order  to  give  it  away.  Thousands  learned 
the  joy  of  giving  for  the  first  time.  Their  standards 
of  beneficence  were  raised  beyond  recognition.    The 


RISE  OF  THE  NEW  IDEALISM  199 

man  who  used  to  give  in  tens  came  to  give  in  hundreds, 
the  man  who  gave  in  hundreds  learned  to  give  in  thou- 
sands. The  board  of  directors  of  a  Boston  bonding 
house  discussed  the  matter  at  their  annual  meeting 
and  decided  to  make  no  profits  while  the  War  lasted, 
but  to  turn  over  their  surplus  to  charitable  work. 
^'Not  owner  but  trustee"  has  become  the  attitude  of 
many  towards  their  wealth.  The  writer  knows  more 
than  one  business  man  who  reduced  his  capital  in 
order  to  give,  and  others  who  borrowed  at  the  bank 
rather  than  let  their  favorite  causes  suffer.  As  one 
giver^expressed  it:  ''The  War  not  only  has  priedj^open 
the  money-chests  of  many  a  miserly  rich'  man,  but  it 
has  smashed  the  locks  and  hinges." 

What  is  to  become  of  this  new  spirit  "of  beneficence? 
Is  it  to  be  an  evanescent  thing?  Are  we  to  sUp  back 
into  the  old  ruts  of  penurious  and  grudging  support  of 
humanitarian  and  rehgious  work?  Are  those  absurd 
old  standards  to  be  resumed?  Having  experienced  the 
exhilaration  of  stewardship,  are  we  to  lapse  into  the  old 
habit  of  saying,   ''This  is  mine  and  mine  alone"? 

These  are  the  questions  which  multitudes  of  Ameri- 
cans are  facing  today,  or  perhaps  not  daring  to|face. 
Let  there  be  no  mistake.  For  most  of  us  to  drop  back 
in  our  giving  means  to  drop  back  in  our  character. 
Our  heart  has  been  enlarged.  Is  it  now  to  shrink? 
Each  man  must  decide  for  himself  what  trusteeship 
demands  under  the  new  conditions  which  prevail  and 
are  to  prevail.  But  let  him  beware  lest  the  beautiful 
ideal  which  has  come  into  his  fife  and  enabled  him  to 
transform  that  most  material  thing  —  gold  —  into 
spiritual  possessions,  the  ideal  which  has  Hfted  him 


200  WORLD  FACTS 

above  sordidness  and  greed  and  made  him  to  walk  with 
the  noble  of  the  earth,  shall  be  allowed  to  depart 
when  the  drive  of  the  world  comes  upon  him  again 
and  the  sacrificial  experiences  of  the  war  days  fade  into 
the  past.  A  mighty  testing  time  has  come  for  us  all. 
Whatever  decisions  we  as  individuals  may  reach, 
for  America  as  a  whole  there  can  be  no  return  to  old 
levels  of  beneficence.  The  world-needs  are  upon  us. 
We  cannot  shut  out  their  clamor.  ''To  whomsoever 
much  is  given,  of  him  shall  much  be  required."  It  is 
the  law  of  nations  as  well  as  of  men.  America  has 
done  nobly  with  her  gifts  throughout  the  years  of  war. 
Her  beneficence,  hke  her  patriotism,  has  been  interna- 
tional. Now  that  the  days  of  reconstruction  are  upon 
us  and  the  programs  of  peace  are  being  drawn  up,  it  is 
unthinkable  that  we  should  withdraw  from  the  world 
partnership  and  say,  ''Our  task  is  done.  We  return 
to  our  own  affairs."  By  all  the  events  of  the  past 
few  years  America  is  summoned  to  serve  the  world 
unselfishly  in  the  tasks  of  peace.  The  program  of 
generosity  has  but  just  begun.  When  the  forces  of 
beneficence,  released  by  the  War,  are  directed  towards 
making  the  world  a  place  of  noble  living  for  all  mankind, 
the  new  ideahsm  will  have  achieved  its  greatest 
triumph. 


FACT  X 

THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  FOR  HER 
GREAT  TASK 

"O  where  are  kings  and  empires  now 
Of  old  that  went  and  came  ? 
But,  Lord,  thy  Church  is  praying  yet, 
A  thousand  years  the  same." 

With  what  power,  with  what  tumult  of  feeling  was 
Bishop  Coxe's  great  hymn  sung  on  that  first  Sunday 
after  the  German  capitulation!  In  that  moment  the 
Church  seemed  to  leap  into  a  new  consciousness  of  her 
power  and  destiny.  Christian  people  were  a  unit  in 
beheving  that  the  victory  of  the  Allies  was  the  victory 
of  the  Church  no  less  than  of  the  State.  From  the 
beginning  they  had  felt  that  righteousness,  as  the 
fundamental  conception  of  the  Christian  religion, 
had  been  assailed  by  Germany  and  her  allies.  Conse- 
quently with  victory  came  a  new  realization  of  God. 
Our  faith  had  been  justified;  our  prayers  had  been 
answered;  the  Lord  had  '^made  bare  his  holy  arm  in 
the  eyes  of  all  the  nations"  (Isa.  52  :  10). 

Those  were  the  days,  in  the  solemn  services  of  the 
Church,  in  informal  meetings  for  prayer,  and  at  the 
family  altar,  when  the  victory  passages  from  Isaiah, 
together  with  the  Psalms  of  triumph,  were  read  with 
thrilling  effect.  How  unspeakably  precious  the  words 
of  promise,  of  hope,  of  exultation,  which  we  had  learned 

201 


202  WORLD  FACTS 

in  childhood,  appeared  to  us  at  that  time!  With  what 
new  meanings  were  they  fraught! 

''How  art  thou  fallen  from  heaven,  0  Lucifer,  son  of 
the  morning!  how  art  thou  cut  down  to  the  ground, 
which  didst  weaken  the  nations!"     (Isa.  14  :  12). 

''How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of 
him  that  bringeth  good  tidings  that  pubhsheth  peace; 
that  bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that  publisheth 
salvation;  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth!" 
(Isa.  52  :7). 

"Arise,  shine;  for  thy  Hght  is  come,  and  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee"  (Isa.  60  :  1). 

"Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates;  and  be  ye  lifted 'up, 
ye  everlasting  doors;  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come 
in"  (Psalm  24  :7). 

"The  Lord  of  hosts  is  with  us;  the  God  of  Jacob  is 
our  refuge"  (Psalm  46  :  11). 

Shall  we  ever  forget  the  solemn  impressions  created 
by  the  reading  of  such  passages  in  the  first  days  of 
peace?  Said  a  Boston  business  man,  after  hearing 
Isaiah  14  : 3-20  read  on  November  12,  1918,  "The 
Bible  is  the  most  up-to-date  book  in  the  world." 

And  now  people  are  asking  as  to  the  prospects  for 
keeping  the  note  of  victory  sounding  in  the  coming 
days.  Are  we  to  see  a  church  vibrant  with  courage, 
going  out  to  conquer  the  world,  or  a  church  content 
to  "hold  its  own"  and  eventually  settling  down  into 
indifference  and  ease?  The  world  has  entered  a  dis- 
tinctly new  era.  Is  there  to  be  a  new  era  for  the 
Church  of  Christ?     "Watchman,  what  of  the  night?" 

One  thing  is  clear:  the  Church  is  aware  of  her  prob- 
lem, and  is  engaged  in  an   earnest   debate  over  its 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  203 

meaning  and  solution.  When  ministers  get  together 
in  httle  groups,  you  will  find  them  eagerly  talking 
about  the  Church  and  the  new  world  order.  When 
programs  for  ecclesiastical  occasions  are  drawn  up, 
the  problems  of  the  Church's  outlook  at  home  and 
abroad  are  given  the  place  of  honor,  if  not]the  exclusive 
place.  Ministers  are  preaching  upon  the  truths  which 
must  underhe  world  reconstruction,  and  upon  the 
basic  problems  of  peace.  The  rehgious  papers  are 
devoting  columns  to  the  discussion  of  the  War  in  its 
bearings  upon  the  extension  of  Christianity.  Perhaps 
most  significant  of  all,  the  laymen  of  the  Church  and  the 
women  who  are  active  in  its  service  are  urging  that  the 
Church  must  rise  to  the  situation  or  be  forever  dis- 
credited as  God's  agency  for  winning  the  world. 

Nor  is  this  all  talk.  On  every  side  we  hear  of  plans 
for  pushing  the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  Some  of  these 
are  of  such  wide  sweep  in  their  educational,  financial, 
and  practical  objectives  that  former  efforts  are  dwarfed 
into  insignificance.  Practically  every  great  denomina- 
tion is  launching  a  program  of  world  progress,  or  is 
rebuilding  on  larger  lines  the  plans  which  were  pro- 
jected in  pre-war  days.  It  is  known  also  that  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  movement,  which 
has  represented  the  Protestant  churches  so  magnifi- 
cently in  the  special  ministries  of  the  war  period,  is 
planning  for  a  permanent  expansion  of  its  work  in 
every  part  of  the  world. 

Most  significant  of  all  is  the  proposed  union  of  the 
Protestant  missionary  forces  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada  in  connection  with  "  The  Interchurch  Move- 
ment of  North  America."     The  plan  is  to  present  to 


204  WORLD  FACTS 

the  religious  public,  sometime  in  1920,  a  budget  cover- 
ing the  entire  range  of  missionary  effort  at  home  and 
abroad,  as  represented  by  the  Boards  of  the  several  de- 
nominations, together  with  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  and  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion and  sundry  union  organizations  doing  a  kindred 
work.  Accurate  surveys  are  to  be  made  of  religious 
conditions  in  the  cities  and  rural  districts  of  the  United 
States,  as  well  as  of  the  leading  fields  of  the  non-Chris- 
tian world.  On  the  basis  of  the  data  gathered  in  this 
way  a  world-wide  plan  of  development  will  be  agreed 
upon  and  the  Christian  public  will  be  asked  to  contrib- 
ute to  it  as  a  whole.  The  intervening  time  will  be  oc- 
cupied in  a  great  campaign  of  education  among  the 
churches,  in  order  that  all  may  participate  intelligently 
and  gladly.  This  means  that  for  the  first  time  in  his- 
tory, so  far  as  American  Protestantism  is  concerned, 
the  Church  will  face  her  entire  task  and  unitedly  move 
out  for  the  conquest  of  the  world.  The  mind  kindles 
over  the  vast  possibilities  of  this  campaign. 

The  signs  are  abundant  that  the  Church  has  entered 
upon  a  new  era  of  development.  She  is  girding  herself 
for  her  great  task.  In  our  consideration  of  this  as  the 
last  fact  in  our  series  we  shall  inquire  as  to  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  Church  of  the  new  era  and  as  to  the 
spheres  of  her  activity. 

A  Democratic  Church 

If  the  Church  counts  upon  winning  the  modern 
world,  she  must  be  democratic  to  the  core.  There  is 
no  room  for  autocracy  in  the  House  of  God.  Claiming 
so  large  a  share  in  the  development  and  estabhshment 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  205 

of  the  democratic  ideal,  the  Church  is  the  last  institu- 
tion which  can  afford  to  hold  back,  now  that  popular 
rule  is  being  rooted  in  every  part  of  the  world. 

If  the  leaders  of  the  Church  do  not  recognize  this 
fact,  they  may  be  certain  the  returning  soldiers  do. 
Some  onevhas  called  the  trenches  ofj;Europe  'Hhe  su- 
preme illustration  of  democracy  in  the  history  of  the 
world."  The  boys  from  the  trenches  and  the  training 
camps,  where  distinctions  of  birth,  education,  and 
wealth  have  been  leveled  to  the  ground,  will  never  be 
content  in  a  church  where  priestcraft  or  privilege  pre- 
vails. 

''Cook's  son  —  duke's  son  —  son  of  a  belted  earl 

Son  of  a  Lambeth  publican  —  it's  all  the  same  today." 

This  is  not  necessarily  a  matter  of  church  govern- 
ment. We  may  have  a  truly  representative  system 
under  the  Congregational,  the  Presbyterial,  or  the 
Episcopal  form.  The  polity  may  vary  widely,  so  long 
as  the  spirit  of  true  democracy  obtains.  If  those  who 
claim  to  be  ''one  body  in  Christ  and  every  one  mem- 
bers one  of  another"  prefer  to  act  directly  upon  the 
more  important  matters  concerned  with  their  fellow- 
ship in  the  Congregational  way,  they  may  feel  that 
their  witness  and  method  have  been  signally  blessed 
in  the  history  of  the  Church.  If  they  inchne  to  a 
measure  of  concentration,  locating  the  responsibihty 
in  a  carefully  chosen  group,  called  a  Presbytery,  they 
may  have  the  consciousness  that  democracy  is  well 
guarded  both  as  to  principle  and  form.  History 
demonstrates  that  this  plan  not  only  is  safe,  but  is 
ejficient  for  good  works.     If,  again,  a  much  higher 


206  WORLD  FACTS 

degree  of  coneentration  is  desired,  and  tiiey  prefer  to 
act  through  a  common  leader  called  a  Bishop,  they 
certainly  are  within  their  privilege  as  a  free  brother- 
hood in  Christ.  Such  an  arrangement  has  proved  to 
be  one  of  great  fruitfulness  in  the  development  of  the 
Kingdom.  All  these  systems  have  their  roots  in  New 
Testament  doctrine  and  practice.  Democracy  is  a 
roomy  affair.  There  may  be  a  naturalization  of  de- 
mocracy in  the  religious  as  well  as  in  the  political 
world.  The  important  thing  is  to  be  on  our  guard 
against  every  form  of  clerical  arrogance  and  the  con- 
stitutional denial  of  the  rights  of  the  free  sons  of 
God. 

Even  more  important  is  it  to  make  the  inner  life  of 
the  Church  democratic  and  brotherly.  A  denomina- 
tion may  be  democratic  in  form  and  autocratic  in 
spirit.  In  the  popular  mind  it  is  the  personnel  rather 
than  the  polity  of  a  church  which  counts.  Does  the 
minister  dominate  everything?  Is  the  congregation 
the  mere  tool  of  the  pulpit?  Do  a  few  trustees  and 
men  of  wealth  overshadow  all  the  rest?  Is  the  senior 
deacon  the  sole  standard  of  orthodoxy  and  procedure? 
If  such  things  are  true,  then  they  ought  to  be  stopped 
and  stopped  at  once.  The  spirit  of  the  age  will  not 
tolerate  them.  An  autocratic  church  is  an  anachron- 
ism, a  blot  on  our  civilization,  an  affront  to  Christ. 

Rented  pews  are  an  offense  to  many,  on  account  of 
the  distinctions  of  wealth  which  they  inevitably  sug- 
gest. They  are  an  undemocratic  institution.  All 
honor  to  the  churches  which  have  sensed  this  feeling 
and  thrown  their  pews  as  wide  open  as  their  doors. 
It  is  a  good  sign  that  the  method  of  church  support 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  207 

known  as  the  Every  Member  Canvass  has  of  late 
come  into  vogue.  As  democracy  applied  to  giving, 
this  system  should  become  universal  in  the  brother- 
hood of  Christ. 

The  Church  should  be  careful  in  every  possible  way 
to  avoid  the  impression  of  ministering  to  a  privileged 
class.  The  humblest  man  in  the  community  should 
be  made  to  feel  that  he  ^'belongs"  to  the  Church  and 
that  the  Church  ''belongs"  to  him.  Recently  a  mis- 
sionary worker  in  New  York  City  invited  a  Russian 
girl  from  the  East  Side  to  accompany  her  to  the  Sun- 
day morning  service.  It  was  a  congregation  of  quite 
unusual  simplicity  and  brotherly  atmosphere  and 
she  counted  upon  the  girl's  feehng  entirely  at  home. 
Everything  was  favorable  from  her  point  of  view. 
The  pews  were  well  filled,  the  music  was  inspiring, 
the  sermon  and  prayers  helpful,  the  people  attentive 
and  reverent.  Upon  leaving  the  edifice,  she  asked  the 
girl  what  impression  she  had  received.  The  girl 
rephed,  ''To  think  that  among  all  those  people  there 
was  not  one  except  myself  who  was  not  able  to  dress  as 
she  pleased!"  It  was  the  clothing  of  the  worshipers 
which  had  filled  her  mind.  How  Httle  we  reaUze  what 
impressions  are  being  made,  what  thoughts  occupy  the 
minds  of  the  poor  as  they  enter  our  churches  or  pass  the 
door!  Let  the  Church  beware  of  Christianity  de  luxe, 
the  Christianity  which  goes  in  strong  for  the  parable  of 
"The  Ten  Talents,"  but  has  little  use  for  that  of  "The 
Good  Samaritan." 

The  word  for  the  Church  in  this  age  is  Brotherhood. 
We  have  talked  a  good  deal  of  brotherhood  in  the  past, 
we    have    organized   what   we    call    "Brotherhoods" 


208  WORLD  FACTS 

among  our  men.  Possibly  we  have  been  old  fashioned, 
and  have  addressed  one  another  as  '^Brother."  The  time 
has  come  when  we  must  ''make  good"  in  this  respect. 
The  world  will  brook  no  insincerity,  will  put  up  with 
no  pious  cant.     It  is  ''the  real  thing "  which  it  demands. 

The  Church  must  do  better  than  incarnate  the  idea 
of  brotherhood  which  prevails  in  society  at  large. 
The  world  is  not  lacking  in  organizations  which  rest 
on  a  fraternal  basis.  It  has  its  Labor  Unions,  Fra- 
ternal Orders,  and  Lodges  of  various  kinds.  Many  of 
these  perform  a  useful  function  in  the  body  politic. 
But  in  the  nature  of  the  case  they  are  of  hmited  scope. 
With  them  it  is  brotherhood  by  exclusion.  The 
brotherhood  of  the  Church  must  be  by  inclusion,  as  Vide 
open  as  the  sky,  as  free  as  the  love  of  God.  It  must 
have  no  regard  to  race,  nationality,  education,  wealth, 
or  social  position.  The  first  article  in  its  constitution 
will  read:  "Whosoever  will  may  come."  This  is  the 
democracy  of  the  New  Testament.  This  is  the  de- 
mocrac};  which  is  to  sweep  through  the  world. 

We  must  feel  with  Edwin  Markham: 

"The  crest  and  crowning  of  all  good, 
Life's  final  star,  is  Brotherhood; 
For  it  will  bring  again  to  earth 
Her  long-lost  Poesy  and  Mirth; 
Will  send  new  light  on  every  face, 
A  kingly  power  upon  the  race. 
And  till  it  comes,  we  men  are  slaves. 
And  travel  downward  to  the  dust  of  graves. 

Come,  clear  the  way,  then,  clear  the  way: 
Blind  creeds  and  kings  have  had  their  day. 
Break  the  dead  branches  from  the  path: 
Our  hope  is  in  the  aftermath  — 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  209 

Our  hope  is  in  heroic  men, 
Star-led  to  build  the  world  again. 
To  this  Event  the  ages  ran; 
Make  way  for  Brotherhood  —  make  way  for  Man."^ 

A  United  Church 

No  more  hopeful  sign  appears  in  the  reUgious  world 
than  the  movemen;:.  toward  unity.  Jesus  prayed  that 
His  disciples  might  be  one  "that  the  world  may  believe 
that  thou  hast  sent  me."  Thank  God,  the  world  is  in 
a  fair  way  of  having  that  demonstration  placed  before 
it.  ^  Even  before  the  War  immense  progress  had  been 
made  in  the  direction  of  removing  antagonisms  and 
misunderstandings,  and  in  bringing  the  denominations 
together  for  common  worship  and  for  cooperative 
effort  in: the  community  and  on  the  mission  field. 

Long  before  the  Allies  learned  the  lessons  of  unity 
on  the  battle  fronts  of  France,  the  progressive  leaders 
of  the  Protestant  denominations  not  only  were  planning 
cooperation  but  were  actually  achieving  it.  The 
coming  together  in  organic  union  of  the  Methodists, 
Presbyterians,  and  CongregationaUsts  of  both  Canada 
and  AustraUa  —  a  movement  instituted\  some  years 
ago  —  draws  near  its  consummation.  The  buildingvof 
bridges  across  the  chasms  created  by  the  Civil  War  on 
the  part  of  the  several  sections  of  the  Methodist  and 
Presbyterian  bodies  in  our  own  land  is  well  under  way. 
If  the  bridges  are  not  completed,  at  least  the  piers  have 
been  laid. 

For  twenty-five  years  the  foreign  mission  boards '.of 
the  evangelical  churches  of  America  have  been  federated 

1  From  "  The  Man  with  the  Hoe  and  Other  Poems."  Copy- 
right by  Edwin  Markham.    Used  by  permission. 


210  WORLD  FACTS 

in  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference,  which  maintains 
headquarters  in  New  York  and  ramifies  by  means  of 
cooperating  committees  throughout  the  world.  Three 
great  churches  planted  by  missionary  societies  in 
South  India  —  the  Congregational,  the  Presbyterian, 
and  the  Reformed  —  have  consoUdated  in  the  United 
Church  of  South  India.  Within  a  few  months  the 
churches  of  the  Basel  Mission  of  Switzerland,  with  a 
membership  of  20,000,  have  decided  to  join  this  com- 
bination. In  China  several  Protestant  bodies  have 
been  drawing  together  in  recent  years  with  reference  to 
consolidation.  In  the  near  future  ten  groups  planted 
under  Presbyterian  auspices  and  two  planted  by 
CongregationaUsts  —  both  Enghsh  and  American  — 
are  to  be  brought  into  one  body  to  be  known  as  ''The 
Allied  Church  of  China."  Around  this  as  a  nucleus 
other  communions  will  be  gathering.  The  foreign 
mission  boards  of  America  are  now  practically  com- 
mitted to  the  conduct  of  their  higher  educational 
work  in  union  institutions,  wherever  it  is  practic- 
able. There  are  in  Asia  today  thirty  colleges  on  a 
union  basis,  whereas  twenty  years  ago  there  was  not 
one.  ] 

The  home  missionary  movement  is  undergoing  a 
corresponding  development  under  able  and  broad- 
minded  leaders,  through  the  Home  Missions  Council. 
Denominational  rivalry,  overlapping,  and  uneconomic 
methods  in  church  extension  work  are  being  eliminated. 
The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America  has  come  to  the  front  in  recent  years  as 
the  means  of  expressing  the  common  opinion  and  pur- 
pose of  Protestantism. 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  211 

The  unity  movement,  which  was  appreciably  gain- 
ing in  force  year  by  year,  is  now  being  speeded  up  as  a 
result  of  the  War.  On  the  one  hand  the  War  has 
impressed  upon  the  Church  the  inefficiency  incident  to 
disunion,  and  on  the  other  hand  it  has  demonstrated 
the  large  possibiUties  of  cooperation.  Finding  union 
organizations  hke  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion and  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association 
providentially  equipped  for  service  in  camp  and  on 
battle-field,  the  Church  with  splendid  unanimity  and 
generosity  placed  her  resources  of  men,  women,  and 
money  under  their  control.  The  result  is  most  hearten- 
ing for  the  future.  As  the  first  fruit  of  the  new  impulse 
created  by  the  War,  we  see  three  branches  of  the  great 
Lutheran  body,  comprising  1,000,000  members,  form- 
ing one  organic  association,  the  union  affecting  not 
only  the  conduct  of  the  local  congregations  but  the 
operation  of  all  the  mission  boards. 

The  signs  which  make  for  reunion  are  found  on  both 
sides  of  the  water.  Said  the  English  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, Dr.  Talbot,  at  a  Nonconformist  gathering  in 
the  spring  of  1918: 

''The  churches  ought  to  feel  and  show  the  unity 
that  exists  between  them.  One  of  the  lessons  of  the 
War  is  that,  in  the  ordinary  man's  judgment,  the 
churches  have  been  successful  in  showing  their  differ- 
ences and  unsuccessful  in  showing  their  agreement. 
The  men  in  the  Army  have  thought  of  them  as  com- 
petitors at  the  best  and  as  antagonists  at  the  worst, 
whereas  they  were  allies  and  comrades,  between  whom 
there  were  misunderstandings  and  differences  of  points 
of  view,  but  with  whom  the  comradeship  was  the  out- 
standing thing.'' 


212  WORLD  FACTS 

Balancing  this  is  the  utterance  of  Dr.  Charles  L. 
Slattery,  of  Grace  Church,  New  York,  in  a  baccalau- 
reate sermon  at  Columbia  University,  urging  that  the 
War  called  for  immediate  attention  to  this  matter  on 
the  part  of  the  churches : 

''Stirred  by  the  tales  of  Christian  fellowship  in  the 
trenches,  bishops,  moderators,  and  elders  are  saying: 
'  When  the  victory  is  won,  we  must  plan  to  get  together 
in  the  Name  of  Christ  and  dwell  in  love  in  one  Church 
which  shall  honor  Him  indeed.'  If  we  wait  till  the 
strain  of  the  War  is  past,  until  the  feeling  of  need  is 
reduced,  then  we  shall  fall  back  to  our  pride  in  our 
httle  histories,  our  conviction  of  privilege,  our  mutually 
exclusive  authorities  —  and  the  unity  we  dreamed  of 
will  be  definitely  remote.  If  the  unity  of  the  Church 
is  to  come  soon,  it  must  begin  to  come  during  this  war. 
It  must  begin  now." 

Two  definite  propositions  looking  to  federation  and 
to  ultimate  unity  are  now  before  the  churches  for 
consideration:  ''The  World  Conference  on  Faith  and 
Order,"  proposed  by  the  General  Convention  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  the  overtures  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  (North)  adopted  at  Columbus 
in  the  spring  of  1918.  The  Episcopal  proposal  reaches 
out  to  all  churches  of  all  lands,  Greek,  Roman,  and 
Protestant.  It  seeks  to  bring  them  into  council  in 
the  hope  that  measures  of  world  unity  may  emerge. 
The  Presbyterian  overtures  are  addressed  to  the 
EvangeUcal  Churches  of  America  and  look  to  an  early 
merging  of  such  bodies  as  are  willing  to  consider 
organic  union. 

These  are  bold  proposals,  but  not  too  bold  for  the 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  213 

times  in  which  we  Uve.  It  behooves  every  local 
church,  every  local  church  member  to  give  this  matter 
serious,  prayerful,  and  immediate  thought.  Every 
possible  encouragement  should  be  given  to  both  plans. 
The  Presbyterian  overtures,  as  directed  to  a  national 
group  already  growing  accustomed  to  common  worship 
and  work,  offer  an  opportunity  for  immediate  action. 
Let  no  word  be  unsaid,  no  chance  be  allowed  to  slip 
which  might  advance  this  eminently  brotherly  and 
Christian  proposal.  Beyond  that  horizon  we  should 
keep  in  view  the  larger  unity  of  the  Christian  body 
throughout  the  world.  Protestantism  stands  to  gain 
immeasurably  by  these  proposals  of  consolidation,  but 
Roman  and  Greek  CathoHcism  stand  to  gain  as  much 
if  not  more.  When  the  democratic  spirit  finds  lodg- 
ment in  these  ancient  churches,  as  it  is  bound  to  do, 
there  will  follow,  as  Dean  Hodges  has  pointed  out,  an 
experience  on  their  part  '^analogous  to  that  which  the 
Reformed  Churches  traversed  in  the  sixteenth  century." 
A  second  Reformation  is  one  of  the  grand  possibilities  of 
the  age.  Russia  waits  for  it;  Austria  waits  for  it; 
Spain  waits  for  it;  most  of  all,  Italy  waits  for  it.  Per- 
haps to  the  American  branch  of  the  Roman  Church  is 
to  come  the  honor  of  liberalizing  Catholicism. 

A  Spiritual  Church 

The  Church  of  Christ  emerges  from  the  War  in  a 
humbled  and  chastened  frame  of  mind.  The  lessons 
learned  have  been  deep  and  vital.  There  have  been  no 
signs  of  self-gratulation  or  boasting.  The  prevailing 
feeling  is  that,  had  the  Church  been  more  faithful  and 
united,    the   War   would   not   have    occurred.     Since 


214  WORLD  FACTS 

it  did  occur,  church  people  rejoice  in  the  lofty  motives 
which  came  to  the  front  and  which  gave  the  War  the 
character  of  a  holy  conflict.  There  is  a  profound 
sense  of  gratitude  that  God  was  able  in  such  a  wonder- 
ful way  to  overrule  the  evil  counsels  of  men  and  to 
turn  them  to  good  account.  But  the  Church  can  never 
give  her  approval  to  war  as  an  institution.  On  the  con- 
trary she  must  regard  it  as  essentially  barbarous  and 
brutal,  unworthy  of  a  civilization  which  calls  itself 
Christian,  the  worst  possible  way  of  settling  human 
disputes.  One  of  the  great  efforts  of  the  Church  here- 
after must  be  to  make  war  an  impossibility. 

As  we  look  back  upon  our  failure,  we  realize  to  what 
a  small  extent  the  spiritual  and  moral  forces  which 
inhere  in  the  Church  had  been  made  to  prevail  in 
society  at  large.  There  was  not  enough  of  the  brother- 
hood idea  to  go  around.  There  was  a  good  deal  in 
spots,  but  the  spots  were  too  few  and  the  system  of 
distribution  was  poor.  Moreover,  there  was  a  vast 
amount  of  sham  Christianity  in  the  earth  —  mate- 
rialism dressed  up  in  religious  guise  and  palmed  off  as 
the  genuine  article.  Germany  was  full  of  it,  but  it 
was  by  no  means  confined  to  that  land.  Nations 
claimed  to  be  Christian  which  understood  neither  the 
spirit  nor  the  method  of  Christ. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Oldham,  of  Edinburgh,  put  his  finger  on 
the  sore  spot  when  he  said:  ''We  have  to  recognize 
that  in  a  society  in  which  the  anti-social  forces  have 
become  so  strong  as  to  threaten  its  disruption,  the 
Christian  Church  has  somehow  failed  to  make  on 
men's  minds  the  impression  that  Christian  people,  in 
consequence  of  their  beliefs,   are  unceasingly,   unre- 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  215 

lentingly  at  war  with  all  that  is  unjust  and  selfish. 
The  sharp  lines  of  opposing  ideals  have  become  blurred. 
The  Christian  protest  has  been  lacking  in  bite  and 
sting."2 

It  was  by  reason  of  strictures  hke  this,  coming  not 
from  outsiders  or  hostile  critics,  but  from  the  very 
heart  of  the  Church,  that  Christian  people  found 
themselves  waiting  for  whatever  lessons  God  might 
send  as  the  War  progressed  and  the  moral  issues 
emerged. 

For  one  thing,  we  took  a  straight  look  into  the 
human  heart  —  the  heart  which  civilization  had  led  us 
to  beheve  was  essentially  truthful  and  kind.  What  we 
discovered  was  a  condition  so  horrible  that  we  drew 
back  in  amazement  and,  for  a  time,  in  disbehef. 
''These  things  could  not  be  so."  In  those  first  months, 
as  blow  followed  blow  in  rapid  succession,  the  Church 
was  fairly  shocked  into  a  revision  of  her  creed  of  man. 
For  decades  civiHzation  had  been  fooling  us;  but  in 
August,  1914  we  found  it  out.  The  lesson  was  a  trying 
one,  but  we  needed  it  sorely.  Our  complacent  optim- 
ism needed  to  be  knocked  in  the  head.  Our  doctrine 
of  an  ''easy  God"  and  our  comfortable  view  of  human 
nature  had  stood  in  the  way  of  genuine  social  redemp- 
tion. If  civilization  meant  redemption,  then  things 
were  going  well  with  the  world.  Let  the  Church  fall  in 
behind  the  civihzers  and  her  success  is  assured.  If 
there  is  needed  some  spiritual,  regenerating  power 
working  behind  and  through  the  processes  of  culture, 
then  let  us  seek  and  apply  that  power  with  every 
energy  of  our  being. 

2  J.  H.  Oldham,  "The  World  and  the  Gospel." 


216  WORLD  FACTS 

Curiously  enough,  at  that  time  the  word  which  came 
to  the  minds  of  those  who  had  refused  to  face  the  dark 
reaUties  of  hfe  was  that  of  a  righteous  man,  who, 
writing  from  the  gloom  and  mire  of  a  dungeon,  into 
which  he  had  been  thrust  by  the  political  and  ecclesias- 
tical authorities  of  the  most  favored  nation  of  ancient 
times,  declared:  ''The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all 
things,  and  desperately  wicked:  who  can  know  it?" 
(Jer.  17  :  9).  Even  better  might  they  have  recalled  the 
words  of  Him  who  said:  ''Out  of  the  heart  of  men 
proceed  evil  thoughts,  adulteries,  fornications,  murders, 
thefts,  covetousness,  wickedness,  deceit,  lascivious- 
ness,  an  evil  eye,  blasphemy,  pride,  foohshness'^ 
(Mark  7  :  21,  22).  What  a  hst!  What  a  revelation! 
Jesus  was  never  surprised  at  anything  which  came  out 
of  the  unregenerate  human  heart.  Hereafter  the 
Church  will  not  be  surprised. 

But  if  there  has  come  to  the  Church  a  revelation  of 
man's  depravity,  there  has  also  come  a  revelation  of 
man's  nobility.  These  erstwhile  care-free,  matter-of- 
fact  soldier  boys  have  taught  us  great  lessons  as  to  the 
sources  of  heroism  and  self-sacrifice!  Their  high  ideal- 
ism, their  apprehension  of  the  moral  issues  involved  in 
the  War  and  their  utter  devotion  to  duty  —  who  can 
place-  an  estimate  on  these  things  ?  Think  of  the  sig- 
nificance of  beholding  millions  of  our  young  men  ring- 
ing true  when  the  supreme  test  was  applied!  Out  of 
this  experience  will  come  one  of  these  days  a  new  and 
sounder  optimism  on  which  to  base  our  effort  and  hope. 

The  Church  realizes  now  the  lure  of  the  sacrificial. 
We  have  come  to  feel  that  we  have  been  asking  too 
little  of  our  young  people  in  the  way  of  heroic  devotion. 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  217 

The  opinion  is  gaining  ground  that  we  must  make  the 
Christian  Ufe  worth  while  in  the  price  that  is  paid. 
We  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  our  soldier,  dead  have 
brought  to  us  a  new  appreciation  of  Calvary  as  the 
place  of  redemption.  Dr.  Harris  E.  Kirk,  in  a  North- 
field  address,  emphasized  this  truth  impressively: 
"Man,"  he  said,  "must  try  to  understand  anew  the 
fundamental  significance  of  the  cross."  Hitherto  we 
have  failed  to  make  him  understand,  largely  because 
we  tried  to  interpret  the  cross  through  medieval 
symboHsm  or  mere  theological  theorizing.  The  speaker 
held  that  the  sacrificial  experiences  growing  out  of , the 
War  have  discovered  for  us  the  old,  neglected,  bibUcal 
truth  that  the  suffering  of  Jesus  Christ  for  man  can  be 
understood  only  through  our  own  pain  and  sacrifice. 
Thus  the  War  has  illumined  those  two  great  funda- 
mentals of  rehgion,  sin  and  redemption.  The  Church 
emerges  from  the  experience  as  from  a  school  of 
theology;  she  is  surer  today  of  herself  and  of  her 
message.  Incidentally  the  Church  finds  comfort  in 
the  fact  that  her  preaching  of  ideahsm  has  not  been  in 
vain.  Where  did^^^these  young  men  get  their  high 
notions  of  truth,  honor,  and  self-abnegation?  The 
majority  of  them  learned  these  things  from  the  Bible, 
as  it  was  taught  them  in  the  home,  the  church,  the 
Sunday  school  and  at  college.  We  have  a  right  to  feel 
that  the  inculcation  of  personal  character  and  of  sacri- 
ficial service  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  imperfect  as  it 
has  been,  was  a  prime  factor  in  bringing  the  War  to  a 
successful  and  honorable  end.  With  all  due  reverence 
we  may  say  that  for  multitudes  of  our  soldiers  and 
sailors  the  New  Testament  was  their  manual  of  war. 


218  WORLD  FACTS 

A  Practical  Church 

A  California  preacher,  who  shows  a  keen  under- 
standing of  the  path  along  which  we  have  come,  has 
summed  up  the  history  of  the  Church  in  four  words: 

Personal:  Three  hundred  years  of  fellowship,  Jesus 
Chi'ist  enthroned  in  its  midst,  surviving  seven  perse- 
cutions and  conquering  the  Roman  world. 

Political:  One  thousand  years  in  which  the  Church 
sought  a  political  expression  and  plimged  deep  into  a 
poUtical  experience. 

Philosophical:  Four  hundred  years  following  the 
Reformation,  the  age  of  creeds,  sects,  and  competing 
philosophies. 

Practical:  The  present  age,  which  has  as  its  motto, 
''Produce  the  goods." 

The  analysis  may  not  be  definite,  discriminating, 
and  inclusive  enough  to  suit  our  ecclesiastical  his- 
torians, but  we  commend  it  to  all  who  beUeve  that 
God  is  speaking  to  His  Church  through  the  spirit  of 
the  times.  The  age  is  both  idealistic  and  practical. 
Spirituahty  is  not  so  much  a  state  as  an  energy.  The 
call  is  for  the  application  of  the  Hfe  of  the  spirit  to  the 
actual  needs  of  society.  Illustrations  may  be  found  in 
every  department  of  church  activity. 

The  preaching  of  the  pulpit  should  be  more  virile, 
definite,  and  searching.  There  should  be  a  restudy  of 
the  lists  of  sins  which  we  find  in  St.  Paul's  epistles. 
Every  sin  there  named  is  a  present-day  sin.  There  is 
need  of  more  reality  in  preaching,  more  concreteness, 
more  connection  with  hfe.  The  preacher  must  come 
down  to  earth,  and  deal  with  things  as  they  are.    Says 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  219 

Professor  Tweedy,  of  Yale,  ''The  pew  is  wanting  clear, 
compelling  speech.  The  cry  is,  ^Man  of  God,  wake 
up!'" 

Church  worship,  in  many  instances,  needs  revitaliz- 
ing. It  moves  too  heavily,  too  monotonously,  it  fails 
"to  grip";  the  sense  of  the  all-pervading  presence  of 
God  is  not  found.  Let  each  congregation  look  into 
this  vitally  important  matter.  The  fault  may  be  with 
the  ritual,  with  the  minister,  with  the  choir,  with  the 
people,  with  all  combined.  It  is  a  good  sign  that  groups 
of  spiritually-minded  ministers  are  studying  how  the 
public  service  can  both  attract  and  empower  under 
modern  conditions. 

The  business  side  of  the  Church  is  usually  suscep- 
tible of  improvement,  especially  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts. Slackness  in  the  financing  of  the  parish,  in  the 
care  of  the  sanctuary,  in  the  keeping  of  records,  in  the 
sending  of  delegates,  in  participation  in  denominational 
and  kingdom  enterprises  is  a  sad  blot  on  any  congrega- 
tion. Said  Mr.  Norval  Hawkins,  of  the  Ford  Auto 
Company,  Detroit,  ''Business  has  become  converted  to 
religion  the  past  few  years.  Now  it  is  time  for  religion 
to  become  converted  to  business. '^ 

The  service  of  the  Church  in  the  matter  of  com- 
munity welfare  offers  a  wide  field  of  usefulness.  Let 
the  Church  "come  to  life"  in  this  realm.  Every  com- 
munity has  its  evils.  These  should  be  ferreted  out  and 
relentlessly  attacked.  All  the  Christian  forces  in  the 
community  should  be  arrayed  against  personaUties, 
influences,  institutions,  and  proposals  which  are  known 
to  be  anti-social. 

Now  that  prohibition  has  come,  no  more  pressing 


220  WORLD  FACTS 

problem  confronts  the  Church  than  the  providing  of 
some  substitute  for  the  saloon.  The  argument  that 
the  saloon  is  the  poor  man's  club  may  have  been  over- 
worked in  certain  quarters,  but  it  contains  a  large 
element  of  truth.  To  many  in  the  crowded  districts  of 
the  great  cities  prohibition  will  bring  a  real  deprivation, 
and  society  should  make  good  the  loss.  Attractive 
social  and  recreational  centers  should  be  provided 
wherever  needed,  and  men,  women,  and  children  should 
be  encouraged  to  enjoy  themselves  in  all  wholesome 
ways.  Here  is  a  problem  which  will  brook  no  delay. 
It  will  need  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  community  as  a 
whole,  but  the  Church  should  lend  all  possible  encour- 
agement and  support. 

A  constructive  opportunity  for  multitudes  of 
churches,  especially  those  in  the  cities,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  movement  for  the  Americanization  of  foreigners 
in  our  midst.  Secretary  Lane,  of  the  Department  of 
the  Interior,  in  his  report  for  1918,  gives  startling  sta- 
tistics on  this  subject.  He  calls  attention  to  the  fact 
that  in  our  ''  world-leading  democracy"  ten  per  cent  of 
the  adult  population  cannot  read  the  laws  which  they 
are  presumed  to  know;  that  eighteen  per  cent  of  our 
coming  citizens  do  not  go  to  school;  that  out  of  the 
first  2,000,000  men  drafted  into  our  army  of  liberty, 
200,000  could  not  read  their  orders,  or  even  the  letters 
sent  them  from  home;  that  5,000,000  citizens  of  our 
supposedly  superior  system  of  government  can  be 
reached  only  through  papers  printed  in  some  foreign 
language.  These  facts  should  be  a  challenge  to  every 
church  within  reach  of  non-English  speaking  foreigners 
or  ilUterate  Americans.     Here  is  a  task  well  suited  to 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  221 

the  men  of  the  Church.  Let  the  male  members  be  or- 
ganized to  teach  each  one  a  group  of  four  or  five.  Not 
the  least  of  the  benefits  would  be  the  friendships  formed 
and  the  overcoming  of  the  barriers  of  caste. 

Religious  and  missionary  education,  on  a  sound 
pedagogical  basis,  offers  an  inviting  sphere.  The 
Church  must  become  intelligent  as  to  her  world  and  her 
message.  The  young  must  be  trained  for  personal 
and  social  usefulness. 

The  recruiting  of  the  ministry  and  of  the  missionary 
force  can  no  longer  be  left  to  chance  impulse  or  effort. 
It  must  be  taken  into  the  counsels  of  the  Church  and 
made  a  part  of  its  policy  and  program.  The  times  call 
for  talented  leadership,  with  high  devotion  and  special 
training.  Every  self-respecting  church  will  aim  to 
produce  during  each  year  of  its  fife  at  least  one  member 
who  shall  devote  himself  to  religious  work.  Large 
churches  should  have  a  more  ambitious  standard. 

Multitudes  of  local  churches  —  let  it  be  admitted  in 
all  humihty  —  have  been  concerned  solely  with  main- 
taining themselves.  How  to  keep  up  the  services,  how 
to  meet  the  competition  of  the  church  across  the  way, 
how  to  pay  the  bills  —  these  are  the  questions  which 
year  after  year  have  absorbed  the  attention  of  minis- 
ters and  officers.  And  outside  waits  the  burdened  and 
troubled  world! 

?;  In  all  these  respects  a  new  day  dawns.  Ministers 
are  coming  to  feel  with  Dr.  C.  H.  Parkhurst,  who  used 
to  say  that  he  regarded  his  church  not  as  a  field,  but 
as  a  force.  We  have  come  to  the  age  of  applied 
Christianity. 


222  WORLD  FACTS 

A  Victorious  Church 

No  one  can  traverse  the  ground  of  the  facts  pre- 
sented in  this  volume  and  not  feel  that  the  American 
Church  is  confronted  with  an  opportunity  unparalleled 
in  her  history.  The  favorable  conditions  found  in 
the  commercial,  intellectual,  and  spiritual  movements 
ofi  the  past  twenty-five  years,  which  we  have  empha- 
sized as  presaging  great  things  for  the  cause  of  Christ, 
have  suddenly  become  operative  in  a  manner  so  compel- 
Hng  as  to  constitute  a  distinctly  new  era.  The  War 
which  precipitated  all  the  forces  of  evil,  in  the  process 
of  overthrowing  them,  precipitated  also  the  forces  for 
good.  The  War  has  brought  to  us  a  world  strangely 
united  in  its  political  and  ethical  ideals.  The  War  has 
presented  the  astonishing  spectacle  of  the  non-Christian 
nations  fighting  for  an  order  of  society  built  upon  the 
Christian  plan.  Stupendous  obstacles,  which  for  cen- 
turies have  stood  in  the  way  of  Christ's  Kingdom,  have 
been  demohshed;  stupendous  incentives  have  been 
created.  The  valleys  have  been  exalted,  the  moimtains 
have  been  made  low,  a  highway  has  been  built  in  the 
world's  desert  for  our  God. 

The  ten  facts  we  have  cited  focus  upon  the  non- 
Christian  world  as  the  supreme  responsibility  of  the 
Church  in  the  days  which  lie  ahead. 

In  the  Renaissance  of  Asia  we  found  the  Oriental 
world  acknowledging  our  civiUzation  and  demonstra- 
ting the  unity  of  the  race. 

In  the  decadence  of  the  non-Christian  religions  we 
found  the  way  prepared  for  the  entering  in  of  a  vital 
and  universal  faith. 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  223 

In  the  rapid  extension  of  Christianity  we  found 
proof  of  the  adequacy  of  the  Christian  message  in 
meeting  the  world's  deepest  needs. 

In  the  East  and  the  West  fighting  in  a  common 
cause  we  found  a  new  bond  of  union  of  a  most  intimate 
and  hopeful  nature. 

In  the  looking  of  the  East  to  America  for  example 
and  help  we  found  the  striking  advantage  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada  as  compared  with  other  nations. 

In  America  brealdng  from  her  isolation  we  found 
the  missionary  purpose  becoming  an  article  in  our 
national  creed. 

In  America's  union  with  Great  Britain  in  a  fellow- 
ship of  service  we  found  the  two  leading  Christian 
states  cooperating  for  the  same  ends. 

In  democracy  becoming  the  organizing  principle  of 
the  world  we  found  the  Christian  ideals  of  freedom  and 
brotherhood  accepted  throughout  the  world. 

In  the  rise  of  the  new  ideaUsm  we  found  the  noblest 
Christian  motives  becoming  operative  in  the  poUtical 
and  commercial  sphere. 

In  the  Church  girding  herself  for  her  great  task  we 
have  found  a  clear  recognition  on  the  part  of  the 
Church  of  the  demands  of  the  new  era  and  an  increas- 
ing readiness  to  undertake  whatever  God  presents. 

It  requires  no  gift  of  prophecy  to  discern  these  signs 
of  the  times.  God  has  published  his  orders  to  the 
American  Church  in  letters  which  blaze  across  the  con- 
tinents. William  T.  ElUs,  the  traveler-journalist,  put 
it  none  too  strongly  when  he  says : 

''All  that  the  churches  of  North  America  have  done 
hitherto  in  the  way  of  world-wide  works  of  philan- 


224  WORLD  FACTS 

thropy,  education,  and  evangelization,  is  mere  appren- 
ticeship for  the  colossal  tasks  which  the  War  has 
unloaded  upon  them.  Even  a  slight  famiUarity  with 
the  conditions  calHng  for  reUef  and  reconstruction,  in 
Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe,  shows  a  staggering  respon- 
sibility that  must  be  shouldered  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  and  chiefly  through  the 
churches.  Certain  fields  lie  especially  within  the  prov- 
ince of  religion.  Religious  leaders,  aware  of  this,  are 
making  plans  upon  a  scale  commensurate  with  the 
need." 

We  find  a  clarion  call  here  to  the  young  men  and 
women  of  our  churches  and  colleges  who  seek  a  worthy 
investment  of  hfe.  Upon  them  must  the  burden  of  the 
world's  reconstruction  rest.  The  age  belongs  primarily 
to  them.  The  world  is  calling  them  and  will  not  be 
denied.  ''Come  over  and  help  us.  Come  over  and 
help  us  build  a  civiUzation  on  the  foundations  of  God." 
It  is  the  Macedonian  cry  of  the  New  Era.  Young 
people  of  talent  and  education  may  not  put  this  lightly 
aside.  Like  the  call  of  the  nation  in  the  time  of  war, 
it  carries  a  divine  imperative.  Out  there  lies  the  new 
world  of  opportunity.  What  is  to  be  my  relation  to  it 
all?  What  share  am  I  to  have  in  the  regeneration  of 
ambitious  Japan,  of  mighty  China,  of  restless  India, 
of  neglected  Africa,  of  distracted  Russia,  of  the  shat- 
tered Moslem  world,  of  the  backward  Latin  races? 
How  may  I  help  compose  the  rivalries  and  animosities  of 
Europe  ?  What  influence  may  I  exert  towards  relating 
the  white  and  yellow  races  in  a  world  of  democratic 
peoples?  What  may  I  do  to  persuade  white  men  to 
give  black  men  a  square  deal  ?  Never  in  history  have 
young  people  been  facing  such   problems   as   these. 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  225 

Never  has  the  world  been  so  completely  in  their 
hands. 

In  this  effort  we  are  to  find  the  completion  of  the 
War.  The  miderlying  cause  for  which  milHons  of 
young  men  have  laid  down  their  lives  was  the  winning 
of  the  world  to  righteousness  and  love.  They  did  not 
reaUze  it  —  multitudes  of  them  —  they  did  not  under- 
stand the  deeper  meanings  of  their  act.  But  we 
reahze  it  and  it  rests  upon  us  to  see  that  they  did  not 
make  the  sacrifice  in  vain. 

We  must  have  a  new  army  of  conquest  to  go  over 
the  seas  —  an  army  of  preachers,  teachers,  Uterary 
workers,  medical  men,  nurses,  kindergartners,  architects, 
engineers,  agriculturists,  business  agents,  social  workers. 
We  must  have  experts  in  every  kind  of  usefulness,  the 
common  consideration  for  them  all  being  that  they 
shall  use  their  specialty  as  a  tool  for  the  Kingdom. 

It  is  a  situation  which  will  appeal  especially  to 
serious-minded  young  officers  in  our  Army  and  Navy. 
In  body  and  mind  they  are  prepared  for  constructive 
service  of  the  Kingdom.  They  have  come  to  realize 
their  obligations  towards  other  nations  and  peoples, 
especially  the  weak,  the  backward,  and  the  oppressed. 
They  have  become  dislodged  from  their  country  and 
home,  and,  in  many  instances,  from  the  careers  they 
had  marked  out  for  themselves.  Above  all,  they  have 
tasted  the  joys  and  solemnities  of  self-sacrifice.  They 
are  dedicated  spirits.  Beyond  doubt  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  young  men  are  to  have  their  life  work 
determined  for  them  through  the  experiences  of  the 
War,  and  directed  in  channels  far  different  from  any- 
thing they  could  have  had  in  mind  when  they  entered 


226  WORLD  FACTS 

the  service  of  the  AlHes.  God  is  caUing  many  such  to 
enUst  in  the  campaign  for  the  saving  of  humanity. 
h  There  is  a  corresponding  duty  for  those  who  stay  at 
home.  In  the  Hght  of  the  world  situation  it  rests  upon 
every  member  of  Christ's  Church  to  relate  himself  in 
some  definite  and  effective  way  with  the  Christian  ex- 
tension movement.  We  must  have  a  great,  supporting 
constituency  at  the  home  base.  There  must  be  boards, 
auxiharies,  committees,  canvassers,  and  above  all  givers. 
The  times  demand  an  enlarged  sense  of  responsibiUty 
in  the  matter  of  financial  support.  Routine  gifts  are 
not  enough.  The  general  giving  of  the  Church  must 
be  supplemented  by  large  donations  on  the  part  of 
those  who  can  ''make  investments'^  abroad.  Evan- 
gehstic  centers  must  be  created  in  the  cities  of  the 
Nearer  and  Farther  East.  In  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  villages  native  preachers  must  be  located  and  for  a 
time  sustained.  In  hundreds  of  places  hospitals  and 
dispensaries  must  be  built,  equipped,  and  manned. 
There  must  be  training  schools  for  native  nurses. 
Educational  institutions  of  every  grade,  from  the 
kindergarten  to  the  university,  must  be  maintained  as 
models  and  incentives  for  native  effort.  Schools  for 
the  preparation  of  native  preachers  and  teachers  are  a 
prime  necessity.  An  output  of  wholesome  Uterature 
—  books,  magazines,  papers  —  must  be  secured. 
There  is  a  demand  for  road  building,"'sanitary  engi- 
neering, and  agricultural  demonstration.  The  arts  and 
crafts  of  civilization  must  be  introduced  throughout 
wide  areas.  The  workers  who  go  out  to  do  these  things 
for  us,  leaving  their  American  homes,  must  have  homes 
built  abroad;  they  must  be  given  healthy,  comfortable, 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS  HERSELF  227 

and  efficient  surroundings.  Sums  of  money  unheard  of 
in  former  days  are  now  demanded.  God's  investment 
hour  has  come  —  who  will  respond  ? 

To  the  ministers  of  our  churches  the  world  situation 
brings  a  summons  of  vast  significance.  If  John  Wesley 
could  say  in  his  day,  ''The  world  is  my  parish,"  what 
should  be  the  feehngs  of  the  ''man  of  God"  of  our 
time?  Is  it  too  much  to  assert  that  every  pastor 
should  claim  to  be  a  world  leader,  that  each  local  church 
should  make  itself  a  center  of  influences  radiating 
throughout  the  earth?  "The  field  is  the  world." 
After  nearly  two  thousand  years  we  return  to  the  ideal 
of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  For  many,  what  the'  per- 
suasions of  the  New  Testament  could  not  accomphsh 
the  War  has  brought  to  pass.  They  have  been  driven 
from  their  aloofness,  as  the  early  Christians  were 
driven  from  Jerusalem  by  persecution.  Dr.  Theodore 
T.  Hunger  used  to  say  of  his  fellow  ministers  who  did 
not  push  foreign  missions  that  the  trouble  was  they  did 
not  beUeve  in  their  own  reUgion.  Not  to  accept  and 
practice  the  universality  of  Christianity  he  regarded  as 
"the  great  heresy  of  the  age."  The  ministers  must  see 
to  it  that  the  rampant  parochialism  which  has  char- 
acterized many  of  our  churches  is  done  away  with. 
Such  an  attitude  is  intolerable  in  these  times. 

Foreign  missions  must  be  brought  into  the  very 
center  of  the  Church's  life.  It  is  not  enough  to  make 
an  occasional  offering,  or  to  pool  this  interest  with  a 
score  of  others,  complacent  in  the  thought  that  it 
appears  upon  "our  schedule  of  benevolence."  Christ 
will  not  be  satisfied  with  a  schedule.  Church  members 
should  be  made  to  feel  that  participation  in  this  enter- 


228  WORLD   FACTS 

prise  is  of  compelling  importance  and  m-gency,  that 
they  are  engaged  in  a  definite  movement  for  world 
conquest,  requiring  definite  commitments  and  plans. 
The  Church  must  be  kept  informed  of  events  at  the 
front.  The  news  of  the  Kingdom  should  be  made  as 
famihar  as  the  news  of  the  secular  world.  The  Church 
must  be  thinking  in  terms  of  internationalism  in  these 
days.     It  must  stand  for  the  whole  program  of  Christ. 

Our  final  word  is  this:  The  New  Era  demands  that 
the  Church  should  exalt  as  never  before  the  Victorious 
Christ.  We  have  been  emphasizing  the  Teaching 
Christ  in  recent  years.  Our  efforts  have  been  directed 
in  large  measure  to  bringing  to  bear  upon  men's  hearts 
and  minds  the  saving  truths  which  Jesus  exemplified 
and  proclaimed.  Previous  to  that  there  was  a  strong 
emphasis  upon  the  Suffering  Christ.  It  was  felt  in 
those  days  that  the  supreme  need  was  for  men  to  realize 
the  plan  of  God  as  providing  atonement  for  sin.  God 
forbid  that  we  should  ever  remit  our  efforts  to  impress 
upon  the  world  those  subhme  aspects  of  our  Lord's 
person  and  mission.  But  there  remains  the  Risen, 
the  Victorious  Christ.  This  is  the  Christ  of  all  ages, 
but  supremely  of  the  age  which  is  to  be.  We  are  to 
think  of  our  Lord  as  the  One  who  claimed  all  authority 
in  heaven  and  in  earth,  who,  in  the  exercise  of  that 
authority,  commanded  His  followers  to  disciple  the 
nations.  We  are  to  think  of  Him  as  pictured  in  that 
final  book  of  the  Bible,  the  victory  book:  ''And  I  saw, 
and  behold,  a  white  horse;  and  he  that  sat  thereon 
had  a  bow;  and  there  was  given  unto  him  a  crown; 
and  he  came  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer  "  (Rev.  6:2). 

There  is  an  incident  in  the  life  of  our  Lord  which 


THE  CHURCH  GIRDS   HERSELF  229 

should  appeal  to  us  powerfully  in  these  days.  It  was 
when  *Hhe  Seventy,"  the  first  missionaries  of  the 
Kingdom,  returned  and  rendered  their  glowing  reports 
of  success.  ''Lord,  even  the  demons  are  subject  unto 
us  in  thy  name"  (Luke  10  :  17).  The  engrossing 
thought  in  their  minds  was  that  all  obstacles  —  even 
the  supernatural  powers  of  evil  —  had  been  removed 
through  the  name  of  Christ.  It  was  at  that  moment 
—  the  moment  of  their  confidence  in  Him  —  that  the 
soul  of  Jesus  was  lifted  up  and  He  caught  the  vision 
of  a  conquered  world.  ''And  he  said  unto  them,  I 
beheld  Satan  fallen  as  lightning  from  heaven"  (Luke 
10  :  18). 

This  thing  shall  move  quickly  when  God's  good  time 
has  come. 

Equally  significant  is  that  word  of  Jesus,  following 
the  vision  of  victory,  spoken,  we  are  told,  privately  to 
His  disciples:  "Blessed  are  the  eyes  which  see  the 
things  that  ye  see:  for  I  say  unto  you,  that  many 
prophets  and  kings  desired  to  see  the  things  which  ye 
see,  and  saw  them  not;  and  to  hear  the  things  which 
ye  hear,  and  heard  them  not"  (Luke  10  :  23,  24). 

What  Jesus  said  privately  to  His  disciples,  we  today 
are  shouting  from  the  housetops. 


INDEX 


Acton  Library  on  human  lib- 
erty, 166. 

Adams,  Professor  George  B., 
on  ttie  English  Constitution, 
142. 

Africa,  mass  movements  in,  52; 
among  the  ^Allies,  races  of, 
67. 

Ali,  Sultan  of  Darfur,  only 
Moslem  ruler  to  follow 
Caliph  in  Jehad,  35. 

Allenby,  General,  enters  Jeru- 
salem, 67. 

Allies,  number  of  the,  66. 

America,  returning  students 
enthusiastic  over,  101;  num- 
ber of  Christian  workers  in 
mission  lands  supported  by, 
109;  steps  in  expansion  in, 
119;  ''Among  the  Nations," 
by  Dr.  H.  H.  Powers,  120; 
when  became  an  Asiatic 
power,  121;  becomes  a 
world  power,  123;  a  mis- 
sionary nation,  124;  and 
Great  Britain,  fundamental 
unity  of,  140. 

American  kerosene  in  lamps  of 
the  gods,  17;  popularity, 
cause  of,  101;  record  in 
diplomacy,  102;  mission- 
aries, influence  of,  107;  colo- 
nies and  protectorates,  list 
of,  120;  sentiment  of  re- 
sponsibility for  the  weaker, 
newly-freed  nationalities, 
126.' 

Americanization  of  foreigners, 
220. 


Anglo-Saxons'  three  most  pre- 
cious possessions,  the,  18; 
resources,  the,  147. 

Arabia,  independence  of,  34. 

Armenian  Congress  at  Erivan. 
160. 

Arnold,  Matthew,  lines  from, 
14. 

Asia,  population  of,  1;  renais- 
sance of,  3. 

Asquith,  Mr.,  comments  on 
the  entrance  of  the  United 
States  into  the  War,  114. 

Australasia  among  the  AUies, 
67. 

Austria,  Emperor  Charles  quits 
throne  and  retires,  162, 

Balfour,  Lord,  brings  greetings 
from  Great  Britain,  113,  143. 

Barton,  Dr.  James  L.,  book  by, 
37;  supports  Lord  Bryce's 
program,  128. 

Bavaria,  King  Ludwig  of,  de- 
posed, 162. 

Beaulieu,  Leroy,  22,  55. 

Belgium,  King  Albert  of,  pro- 
poses suffrage  reforms,  163; 
and  the  Congo  atrocities, 
186. 

Bhagavadgita,  31. 

Bolsheviks  rise  in  Russia,  159; 
asked  to  recognize  Ukrainian 
Republic,  160;  sign  treaty 
of  Brest-Litovsk,  161. 

Boxer  uprising,  explanation  of 
the,  104;  indemnities,  105. 

Brahmans  and  caste,  16,  31. 

Brest-Litovsk,  Treaty  of,  161. 


231 


232 


INDEX 


Bridgman,  Rev.  E.  C,  secre- 
\tary  of  American  legation  in 
China,  107. 

British  Empire,  population  of, 
149. 

Bryce,  Viscount  James,  pro- 
gram for  the  future  of  the 
Holy  Land  proposed  by,  128. 

Buddhism  losing  its  hold  on 
Japan,  20;  revival  of,  21; 
imitating  Christianity,  22; 
doctrine  of,  41. 

Bulgaria,  King  Ferdinand  of, 
abdicates,  161;  King  Boris 
of,  abdicates,  162. 

Burlingame,  Anson,  94. 

Camp,  Major  Isaac,  in  Bethle- 
hem, 87. 

Canton,  Chinese  Christians  in, 
48. 

Carey,  William,  42. 

Cavell,  Edith,  74. 

Census  of  religions  in  Univer- 
sity of  Tokio,  23;  of  Chris- 
tian progress  in  the  Punjab 
and  United  Provinces,  43. 

Chang,  Chih  Tung,  book  by, 
30;  Po-ling,  of  Tientsin,  con- 
version of,  54. 

Chaudries,  conference  of  In- 
dian, 44. 

China  breaks  with  her  past,  7; 
at  war  with  Japan,  8;  Boxer 
uprising  in,  9;  public  schools 
in,  10,  27;  students  from, 
10;  railroads  of,  10;  news- 
papers of,  11,  opium  pro- 
hibition in,  12;  waning  of 
the  old  faiths  in,  26;  gods 
sacrificed  for  schools  in,  28: 
theater  plays  ridicule  idol 
worship  in,  28;  union  evan- 
gelistic campaigns  in,  47; 
tabulation  of  century's  prog- 
ress in,  50;  enters  war  and 
sends  coolies,  70;  coolies 
from,  77,  85;   reputation  of 


George  Washington  in,  93; 
revolution  of  1911-12  in,  94; 
America's  diplomatic  deal- 
ings with,  103;  emigrants 
from,  107;  Rockefeller  Foun- 
dation in,  110;  Literati  and 
gentry  studying  the  Bible  in, 
112;  attempt  to  restore 
Manchu  dynasty  in,  159. 

Chinese  girl's  essay  on  Liberty, 
Fraternity,  Equality,  166; 
faculty  for  self-government, 
167. 

Chosen  —  see  Korea. 

Christ  the  solution  of  the 
world's  political  problem, 
177;  the  Victorious,  228. 

Christianity,  rapid  extension 
of,  39;  world-statistics  of, 
39 ;  a  world-conquering  faith, 
41;  in  Korea,  51;  in  Japan, 
three  years'  campaign  for, 
52;  causes  for  rapid  exten- 
sion of,  53;  originated  in 
the  East,  56;  dominance  of 
Protestant  type  of,  58;  not 
discredited  by  the  War,  62; 
applied,  221. 

Church,  great  task  before  the, 
201;  government,  forms  of, 
205;  inner  life  of  the,  206;  a 
united,  209;  a  spiritual,  213; 
realizes  the  lure  of  sacrifice, 
the,  216;  a  practical,  218;  a 
victorious,  222;  foreign  mis- 
sions the  center  of  the,  227; 
must  exalt  the  Victorious 
Christ,  228. 

Clark,  Colonel  Wm.  S.,  6. 

Colquhoun,  Archibald,  on 
China,  167. 

Confucianism,  29. 

Constantinople,  Committee  of 
Union  and  Progress  in,  23. 

Cooper,  Captain  James,  85. 

Crusades,  1 ;  contrast  of  Alien- 
by 's  treatment  of  Jerusalem 
with  that  of  the  early,  86. 


INDEX 


233 


Curzon,  Lord,  comments  on 
entry  of  United  States  into 
the  War,  114. 

Gushing,  Caleb,  103. 

Czecho-Slovak  nation  recog- 
nized, 162. 

Davis,  Jerome  D.,  message  of, 
20. 

Democracy  contrasted,  France 
and  England's,  153;  the  or- 
ganizing principle  of  the 
world,  157;  Russian  Ortho- 
dox Church  moves  toward, 
159;  in  Norse  countries, 
trend  toward,  163;  various 
kinds  of,  168;  international, 
171;  perils  of,  174;  Chris- 
tianization  of,  176. 

"  Democratic  Movement  in 
Asia,"  (The),  55;  move- 
ment, sweep  of  the,  163; 
church,  a,  204. 

Demolins,  Edmond,  book  on 
Anglo-Saxons  by,  147. 

Dennett,  Tyler,  55,  108. 

Dewey,  Professor  John,  of 
Columbia  University,  65,  77. 

Dnyanodaya,  The,  32. 

Doshisha  University,  14,  109. 

Ebina,  Dr.  Danjo,  98.  , 

Eddy,  George  Sherwood,  47, 
48. 

Edinburgh  Conference,  57,  67. 

Egan,  Maurice  F.,  studies 
democratic  trend  in  Scandi- 
navian countries,  163. 

Eliot,  Ex-President,  of  Har- 
vard discusses  America's 
achievements  in  civilization, 
129. 

Ellis,  Wm.  T.,  reports  National 
Council  of  Free  Churches  in 
1918,  144;  on  responsibility 
of  the  Church,  223. 

England  and  her  subject  races, 
81;  moral  decline  of,  188. 


English  language,  extent  of, 
150. 

Fenchowfu  citizens'  class  de- 
sires to  study  the  Bible,  111. 

Finland  Republic  recognized 
by  Russia,  161. 

France  at  the  beginning  of  the 
War,  moral  appearance  of, 
186. 

George,  Lloyd,  80;  announces 
number  Great  Britain  and 
colonies  have  raised  for  war, 
136;  expresses  appreciation 
of  America's  entry  into  the 
War,  138. 

Germany  receives  response 
from  President  Wilson  to 
Peace  Overtures,  162;  Kaiser 
Wilhelm  II  of,  abdicates, 
162. 

Great  Britain,  size  of  army  to 
August,  1918,  136;  Ameri- 
ca's obligation  to,  137;  ap- 
preciates America,  138. 

Greece,  abdication  of  the  King 
of,  158. 

Griffis,  Wm.  Elliott,  6. 

Guhck,  Dr.  Sidney  L.,  19;  on 
Japan's  attitude  to  America, 
96;  immigration  plan  of,  96. 

Gurkhas  of  India,  76, 

Hadley,  Pres.  A.  T.,  "Freedom 

and     Responsibility,"     by, 

196. 
Harada,  Pres.  Tasaku,  14. 
Hay,  John,  104;  "Golden  Rule 

Secretary,"  105. 
Hearn,  Lafcadio,  6. 
Hinduism,   lessening  hold  of, 

30. 
Holy  War  —  see  Jehad. 

Idealism,  rise  of  the  new,  179; 
definition  of,  184;  cleans- 
in  gpower  of,  185;  practical. 


234 


INDEX 


194;  for  the  world,  Ameri- 
can, 196;  in  spending 
money,  198. 

India,  awakening  in,  13,  42; 
Swadesi  movement  in,  15; 
Brahman's  changing  view  of 
caste  in,  16;  signs  of  de- 
cadence in,  30;  and  her 
faiths,  31;  reaction  of  Mos- 
lems in,  34;  mass  move- 
ments to  Christianity  in,  44; 
the  gift  of,  70;  loyalty  of 
Mohammedan,  _  71;  inter- 
ested in  America,  students 
of,  100;  Home  Rule  scheme 
for,  161,  170. 

Ireland,  Home  Rule  offered  in, 
158. 

Islam,  solidarity  of,  34;  Chris- 
tian approach  to,  37. 

James,  Professor  WiUiam,  on 
the  campaign  for  truth,  145. 

Japan,  Anglo-Japanese  agree- 
ment, 1 ;  Russo-Japanese 
war,  1;  modernization  of, 
3;  trade  progress  in,  4; 
mental  alertness  of,  5;  at 
war  with  China,  8;  Bud- 
dhism losing  hold  in,  20;  gov- 
ernment action  on  religion 
in,  24;  decides  to  side  with 
England  and  the  Allies,  69; 
friendly  to  the  United  States, 
96;  students  admire  Wash- 
ington and  Lincoln,  97 ;  with 
the  English-speaking  people, 
155;  has  new  cabinet  with 
democratic  leanings,  161, 
170. 

Jehad,  35. 

Jerusalem,  67. 

Jones,  Dr.  J.  P.,  100. 

Jugo-Slav  Republic  constitutes 
a  National  Assembly,  162. 

Kahn,  Otto  H.,  on  Anglo- 
American  unity,  152. 


Kamerun,  52. 

Kerensky,  Alexander,  Russian 

premier,  159. 
Kipling's  poem  "The  Return," 

81. 
Korea,  51. 

Labor       Conference,       Inter- 

AUied,  172, 
"Lafayette,  we  are  here,"  122. 
League  of  Nations,  152,  171. 
Li  Hung  Chang,   103;    Yuan 

Hung,  157. 
London    Missionary   Society's 

Chronicle,  84. 

Maori  tribes  have  to  be  held 
back,  73;  chief,  speech  of  a, 
83. 

Markham,  Edwin,  poem  by, 
208. 

Martin,  Dr.  W.  A.  P.,  8,  108. 

McLaughlin,  Professor,  on  the 
American  Revolution,  142. 

Mecca,  33;  Grand  Sharif  of, 
34. 

Mercier,  Cardinal,  62. 

Methodist  Board  in  India,  44. 

Mexico,  promulgation  of  new 
constitution  in,  158. 

Mill,  John  Stuart,  on  the 
French  people,  153. 

Missions,  science  of,  57. 

Missionary,  higher  institutions 
of  learning,  109;  friendship 
in  dealing  with  the  people, 
109;  nation,  Roosevelt  says 
America  has  become,  124. 

Missionary  work,  impresses  the 
East,  55;  support  largely 
Anglo-American,  151. 

Mohammedanism  crumbling, 
33;  worked  out  badly  for 
the  world,  37;  doctrine  of, 
41. 

Moore,  Professor  Edward  C, 
56,  64;  John  Bassett,  quo- 
tation from,  113. 


INDEX 


235 


Morrison,  Robert,  49. 
Moslem      world.      The,      33; 

merchant-missionaries,     36; 

troops     defend     the     Suez 

Canal,  72. 
Mott,  John  R.,  66. 
Muir,    Sir    Ramsay,    on    the 

British  Empire,  149. 

Nationahsm,  the  new,  78. 

Non-Christian  religions,  the 
decadence  of  the,  20;  world 
sohd  for  righteousness,  68. 

Noyes,  Alfred,  poem  "The 
Searchlights,"  by,  192. 

Okakura-Kakuzo,  Count,  4. 

Okuma,  Count,  62. 

Oldham,  Dr.  J.  H.,  on  sham 
Christianity,  214. 

Opium  on  Chinese,  forcing,  78; 
Commission,  103. 

Outlook  editorial  on  democ- 
racy, 174. 

Paganism  fights  for  Christian 
cause,  82. 

Paotingfu,  Bible  classes,  48. 

Parker,  Theodore,  defines  de- 
mocracy, 173. 

Philippines,  prospects  in  the, 
52. 

Plato's  "Republic,"  174. 

Poland,  Germany  suggests  ap- 
pointment of  regents  for, 
159. 

Porto  Rico  males  admitted  to 
citizenship,  158. 

Portsmouth,  Treaty  of,  13. 

Powers,  Dr.  H.  H.,  quotations 
from  "America  Among  the 
Nations,"  by,  120,  141,  155. 

Pratt,  Professor,  J.  B.,  31. 

Red  Cross  in  modern  warfare, 
86;  unit  in  the  Holy  Land 
called  "The  Crusaae  of  the 
Good  Samaritans,"  88. 


Reinsch,  Ambassador  Paul  S., 
6,  53;  on  Chinese  democ- 
racy, 167. 

Rihbany,  Rev.  A.  M.,  supports 
Bryce  program  in  Holy 
Land,  128. 

Rockefeller  Foundation,  China 
Medical  Board  of  the,  110. 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  59. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  quotes 
Washington 's  ' '  Forgotten 
Maxim,"  117;  calls  America 
a  missionary  nation,  124. 

Ross,  Professor  E.  A.,  51, 
108. 

Russell  of  Killowen,  Lord,  de- 
fines civilization,  145. 

Russia,  radicals  of,  78;  atti- 
tude of  masses  in,  toward 
America,  99;  abdication  of 
Czar  of,  158;  new  Govern- 
ment of,  formally  recognized, 
158;  recognizes  Republic  of 
Finland,  161. 

Russian  Orthodox  Church  un- 
dertakes reorganization,  159; 
provisional  government  pro- 
claimed a  republic,  159; 
Government  looks  toward 
election  of  constituent  as- 
sembly, 159;  Bolsheviks 
seize  authority,  159. 

Sarojini,  Naidu,  poetical  lines 
of,  70. 

Senussi,  the,  36. 

Seward,  William  H.,  on  Amer- 
ica in  the  Far  East,  92. 

Siam,  with  the  Allies,  73. 

Slattery,  Dr.  C.  L.,  of  Grace 
Church,  New  York,  on 
church  fellowship,  212. 

Smith,  Arthur  H.,  and  the  in- 
demnity students,  106. 

Suffrage,  granted  women  in 
Canada,  157;  to  women, 
British  Parliament  grants, 
159;      granted     women     in 


236 


INDEX 


Russia,  Holland,  and  six  of 
the  United  States,  160. 

Sun  Yat  Sen,  48. 

Swadesi  Movement  in  India, 
15. 

Taft,  Ex-President  comments 
on  America's  entrance  upon 
the  War  and  interprets 
Washington's  farewell  ad- 
dress, 117. 

Tagore,  Indian  poet,  7;  in 
"Nationahsm,"  18. 

Talbot,  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
speaks  at  a  non-conformist 
gathering  on  Unity,  211. 

Tamil  country's  movement 
toward  Christianity,  45. 

Taylor,  Isaac,  18. 

Townsend,  Meredith,  18. 

Trans-Caucasus  declares  inde- 
pendence of  Russia,  158. 

Trusteeship  in  colonial  ad- 
ministration, 79. 

Turkey,  34;  attitude  toward 
America  of,  99. 

Turkish  Empire,  suggestions 
for  the  future  of  the,  128. 

Uganda,  52. 

United  States  and  dependen- 
cies, population  of  the,  149. 

War,  comments  on  the  entry 
of  the  United  States  into 
the,  113-115;  and  the  new 
outlook  upon  the  world,  121; 
Conference  in  London,  Im- 
perial, 158;  aims  of  British 
Labour  Party,  160;  aims  as 


described  in  President  Wil- 
son s  Mount  Vernon  speech, 
161,  a  fellowship  of  arms 
and  ideals,  183;  completion 
of  the,  225. 

Warne,  Bishop  of  Lucknow, 
44,  70. 

Washington,  George,  reputa- 
tion in  China  of,  93;  Jap- 
anese students  admire,  97; 
letters  of,  116;  Farewell 
Address  of,  117;  quoted  by 
Roosevelt,  117;  on  Euro- 
pean relations,  118. 

Wells,  H.  G.,  62,  82. 

Whitehead,  Anglican  Bishop  of 
Madras,  46. 

Whitman,  Walt,  poem  by,  88. 

Whiton,  Juliet,  poem  by,  137. 

Williams,  S.  Wells,  107. 

Wilcocks,  General  Sir  James, 
72. 

Wilson,  President,  speech  at 
Mt,  Vernon  of,  161;  Keplies 
to  peace  overtures  of  Ger- 
many, 162,  164. 

Wingate's,  Sir  Reginald,  expe- 
dition, 35. 

World-Consciousness,  the  new, 
75;  reconstruction,  programs 
of,  173;  Conference  on  Faith 
and  Order,  212. 

Y  M  C  A  workers,  85;  plans 
permanent  expansion,  203. 

Yale  Review,  article  by  Gals- 
worthy in,  168. 

Yuan  Shih  Kai,  95,  157. 

Zulu  loyalty  to  England,  73. 


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